Dranzer
by SwiftSilver
Summary: Rei, having lost his job, finds himself in a bar by the name of Dranzer. Kai, the bartenderco-owner of the bar, must keep his customers in check. Which is how he meets Rei. KaixRei. (Try reading the inside summary)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. If I did, I would make sure that Dranzer wasn't so ugly. O.o I do own the plot of this fic an any original characters.  
  
Rating: PG-13 for KaixRei yaoi pairing and language. (What would you expect from a bar?)  
  
Summary: Rei, having recently lost his job, finds himself searching for somewhere to just sit and...relax. He ends up in a bar on the edges of town where he meets Kai. Kai is the bartender/co-owner of the bar and often must keep his customers in check. Which is how he meets Rei.  
  
Notes: Yeah. Totally random. O.o Well, kind of. It's 8:30 in the morning and I'm bored to death already. I was sitting downstairs watching CMT(Country Music Television) and Toby Keith's 'I Love This Bar' came on. I'd just finish watching Beyblade(and received a bit of long-awaited motivation) and the first thing that came to mind was that I should make a Beyblade fic involving a bar. And who better to do the fic with than Kai and Rei? ^.^ I know, I know. I'm just adding on to the huge pile on my plate already but I wont be able to get this off of my mind and if I don't do it now I wont want to do it later when I really want to do. ---That makes no sense, I know. But I need to do it while I still have the inspiration. That's why I haven't done chapter 7 of HoW. I didn't watch the race last weekend so I kind of...yeah. Got a bit lazy. I'll watch the race tomorrow and I'll type up 7 & 8 for you. Meanwhile, here's...umm...*Can't think of a name* MR.STUFFY! Some help here! *Looks for Mr.Stuffy but only hears his voice.* He says I should call it Dranzer. O.o Says that should be the bar's name. So. Yeah. Okay. Here's Dranzer. XD (It's going to have to be a chapter fic since they don't know each other in the start and I'm not talented enough to make them go from oblivious to in love in a one-shot o.o)  
  
--Dranzer-  
  
Rei looked up at the crimson sign above the bar door. Dranzer...What was he doing at a bar anyway? Right. Where else did he want to go? After losing his job to someone supposedly 'better', Rei didn't feel like going home or any other familiar place. So he'd begun to wander around the town. His wandering had brought him to this bar. Dranzer.  
  
"Oh, hell. How much more harm can be done..." Rei muttered as he opened the heavy bar door and stepped in. Loud voices and smoke greeted him as well as the welcoming calls from some of the bar's occupants.  
  
"Well, well. Looks like we got ourselves a newcomer." Drawled someone at the bar counter. The man beside him looked back at Rei and nodded.  
  
"Looks like it. Hey newcomer. What brings you here? You don't look like the type to be hangin' around in a bar."  
  
Rei didn't respond. Instead, he found an empty seat beside the two men with more on his left.  
  
"What? You don't want to talk about it? Let me guess...Your girlfriend dumped you."  
  
Rei didn't respond to that either. He rested his elbows on the counter and his forehead in his hands.  
  
"Okay...Maybe your wife dumped you at the alter then?"  
  
"Leave him alone, Jay." Someone said from the other side of the counter. Rei lifted his head to find the bartender's crimson eyes on him. "Can I get you something?"  
  
"No, thanks."  
  
The other shrugged. "Don't mind them. They're just curious. And a bit territorial. I'd tell you they were like wild cats but their intelligence doesn't go that far." The bartender said to Rei. The two men chuckled, accepting the insult. This surprised Rei a bit. He'd figured that they would be angered. They looked like the type to take offense from the littlest remark.   
  
The bartender seemed to see his surprise because he smiled. "You'll learn soon enough-if you come again- that no one here acts how they look like they act." He told Rei.  
  
"Yeah. Look at Kai. Everyone sees him as a stoic, cold-hearted jerk but he's not." The first man who had spoken to Rei said.  
  
"Gee, thanks. Now I know how everyone feels." The bartender said. So Rei knew his name now. Kai.   
  
"Okay, so maybe he is a jerk. But he's not cold-hearted. Well, that might not make sense. Most jerks are cold-hearted."  
  
"And most idiots don't know when to shut up." Kai replied.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I know." The man turned to his companion and they started a different conversation.  
  
"So, what brings you here?" Kai asked. "Like Jay said: You don't look like the type that would come to a bar. Especially not this one."  
  
"Especially not this one?" Rei inquired.  
  
"Considering the fact that ninety-five percent of us are insane."  
  
Rei smiled at that. He'd been thinking that Kai had meant that there was something wrong with the people that came to this bar.  
  
"Actually, this is probably the best bar to come to. I sound like I'm bragging or something but it's true. It's safer than the other three in town and the people are much better behaved. Though I do admit that I do occasionally have to stop some customers from misbehaving." Someone called to Kai. "I'll be right back." Kai went to find out what the customer wanted before returning to talk to Rei.  
  
"Now, are you willing to talk about why you're here?"  
  
Rei sighed. "Yeah. I might as well..."  
  
"I'm listening. I'll have to stop you sometimes if someone needs me though."  
  
Rei nodded. "Okay...Well, for starters, I used to work as an editor for the newspaper. Probably the only job I've ever really enjoyed. But my boss's wife somehow got him to believe that she was a better editor than me. Which is crazy, considering she dropped out of school in ninth grade. So, I lost my job to her. That was last year. After a month or two, he figured out that his wife was a terrible editor and asked for me to come back. I did, only to find that his   
  
-sister- was trying to take my job as well."  
  
Kai stopped him there and went to settle disagreement between a man and his date. Rei watched him, wondering how he kept his patience and good mood all night if he kept having to break up fights. When Kai returned, he motioned for Rei to continue.  
  
"Well, my boss didn't seem to want to give his sister the job at first. I was happy about that. Glad that he wasn't giving in to his family again. But, after my mother passed away, my editing became poor. His sister took advantage of that and he gave her the job, once again firing me. But she was even worse than I was after my mother died. So, once again, he called me back for the job. And I, though slightly reluctant, accepted my job back. Everything went well up until today..." Rei trailed off for a moment. "Could you get me some water?"  
  
"Hai. Be right back." When Kai returned, he set the glass of water before Rei. Rei picked up the glass, taking a drink before continuing.  
  
"So, today, his -daughter- got the job and he fired me -again-. But, this time, he's positive that his -daughter- is better."  
  
"How old is she?"  
  
"Fifteen."  
  
"Damn...Is she as good as he thinks?"  
  
"You want to see what she edited?" Rei offered.  
  
"Is it good?" Kai asked.  
  
"No."  
  
"Then I don't need to. Are you planning on finding another job?"   
  
"I wasn't but I have to." Rei muttered.  
  
"What kind of job are you looking for?"  
  
Rei shrugged. "Something enjoyable."  
  
"Like?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe I'll go work at an animal shelter or something."  
  
"If you meant that, I can tell you one that's looking for help." Kai said.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"If you meant it."  
  
"I kind of did but I mean it now. My mom used to work at a shelter and I helped her sometimes. Where is the shelter?"  
  
"The building across the street. It's a cat rescue." Kai said, taking out a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote a number down on the paper and handed it to Rei. "They had to move the cats out for a while so they can repair the building. You should be able to reach them at this number though."  
  
Rei looked down at the number. "And you had this memorized?"  
  
"Yeah. I started keep track of who's looking for help a few years ago. I've gotten to know the people here pretty well and I can tell what kind of job they would enjoy."  
  
"Kai's helped out a lot of people around here. Me included." Someone said from behind Rei. Rei looked back.  
  
"Hey, Max." Kai greeted, reaching behind him and filling a glass with ale. He handed it to Max who thanked him and sat down in the now unoccupied seat to Rei's right.  
  
"Hi, Kai. How've you been?"  
  
"Besides the point that Kayla's mad at me? Fine."  
  
"Mad at you again? What now?"  
  
Kai shook his head. "I haven't been letting her come with me to work on weekends because it's too crowded. So she's been sulking around the house ignoring me."  
  
"What was it last time?" Max asked, grinning.  
  
"Last time? Bringing the puppy home. She's okay with him now but she hated me for a month after I brought him home."  
  
"How is the puppy?"  
  
"Fine. He's gotten big. Of course, he -is- a Newfoundland. Kayla's taught him some of her tricks so he's become a little devil."  
  
"Who's Kayla?" Rei finally asked.  
  
"My Rottweiler." Kai replied. "Her mother was my former dog but she died along with Kayla's litter-mates."  
  
"A Rottweiler...How old?"  
  
"Seven now and she's too human for her own good." Kai muttered.  
  
"Hey! Kai! Stop flirting with the newcomer and refill my glass, will you?"  
  
"Refill it yourself, King!" Kai yelled back.   
  
"Now, now, Kai. You know that's your job." Max said, shaking his head.  
  
"Not when King wants something..." Kai growled, glaring at the burly customer who was watching him. "Are you deaf or something? Refill the damn thing yourself. I've given myself a limit. I'll refill a jackass's glass fifteen times before they have to refill it themselves. So get off your lazy as and do it yourself." Kai snapped.  
  
"Stupid bastard." King rumbled, standing up and slamming his glass down on the counter. It shattered, causing Rei to flinch. Kai and Max just watched the man come around the counter and stalk towards Kai. "You gonna make me hurt you?" King snarled.  
  
"I think the only think you'll be doing is forcing Kai to throw you out." Someone said from the catwalk-like hall that surrounded the bar room. Rei looked up to find a navy-haired man and a shorter, brown-haired one. The navy-haired man was the one who had spoken.  
  
"Tyson's right, King. If you don't behave yourself, Kai will have to throw you out." Max warned.  
  
"Let him try!" King bellowed.   
  
"You know I can, King. Don't bother drawing attention to yourself." Kai hissed.  
  
"King, I suggest you either return to you seat or leave. We will not hesitate to throw you out." The brown-haired man said.  
  
"Let him do what he wants, Kenny." Tyson said. "If he wants to get his drunk rear kicked out of the bar, let him."  
  
"No, Tyson. We don't want a fight." Kenny responded.   
  
"Fine..."  
  
"King." Kai said.  
  
Growling, King turned and stormed off, leaving the bar. "Let's hope he chooses to stay out." Max muttered  
  
"He will. There's other places better suited for his type. So, Kai. Who's your friend?" Kenny asked as he and Tyson came down the stairs from the catwalk-hall and joined Max beside Rei.  
  
"My name's Rei." He replied, realizing that he hadn't even told Kai that yet.  
  
"Well, nice to meet you Rei."  
  
*Murders her comp* Stupid thing kept screwing with my indentations and stuff. *Growls* STUPID. *Huffs and turned back on computer* ANYWAY. I hope you all enjoyed that first chapter. A bit different from what you normally find, I hope. I don't want to follow what other people have been doing. Kind of why I started War of Darkness. I wanted to see if I could make something different than what anyone else has done. Did I succeed in that or in this? Tell me! Thanks for reading and please review! Later! 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Mr.Stuffy: Wings has gotten sick of reminding you that she does not own Beyblade.  
  
Rating: Mr.Stuffy: She says you already know.  
  
Notes: *Throws Mr.Stuffy back on to her bed.* Okay. I should be getting changed and going downstairs to watch the race(It's 9:40) but I'm wanting to start typing this...so...I'll type for nine minutes and then change. ^.^  
  
--Dranzer-  
  
2  
  
Rei looked at his watch. The bar was empty except for Kai, Max, Kenny, Tyson, and himself. Kai and Tyson were cleaning up the bar while Kenny and Max cleared the tables and set the chairs up on top of them.  
  
"I don't want to go home..." Max said, finishing his work and stretching.  
  
"Me neither, but I have to make sure Kayla and Kin didn't destroy the house." Kai responded, sitting on the edge of the counter.  
  
"Hey. Why don't we all just stay here for the night? You can run home and get Kayla and Kin. Bring them back here." Tyson suggested.  
  
"That's an idea. I don't really feel like walking home either." Kenny said.  
  
"Oh, hell. Why not?" Kai stood up, stretching.  
  
"Mind if I stay?" Rei asked.   
  
Kai shook his head. "Not at all."  
  
"Yeah. The more the merrier, you know?" Tyson said.  
  
"Not really. At the moment, the five of us and the dogs is enough. Anymore would ruin the fun of staying here all night." Kenny said.  
  
"Yeah. That's true. Well, go get the dogs Kai. Oh! And bring Salem and Mouse, too." Max said.  
  
"Alright. Anyone want to come with me?" Kai asked.  
  
"I will." Rei answered.  
  
"I would but I don't really want to be in a car with those four." Kenny said, smiling.  
  
"And I do?" Kai said, shaking his head. "Come on, Rei. We'll be right back."  
  
Rei followed Kai out to the street where he had parked his car next to the sidewalk. (A/N: Damnit. I don't have time to tell you what his car is. I have to go change o.o *Mutters*)  
  
(A/N: ^.^ Okay. I wont WATCH the race. *Grins* I found the AM radio station that covers Winston(Or NEXTEL) Cup races. Feh. It's a Classic Country channel. Wtf is Classic Country? O.o)  
  
Rei wondered what color the Mustang really was. It looked black in the darkness but, where the moonlight hit it, it seemed to change colors depending on where you stood. Rei was about to ask Kai when the other spoke.  
  
"Chrome illusion." Kai said, having noticed Rei watching the car. "Like it?"  
  
"It's gorgeous. You let you -dogs- in your car?" Rei asked, raising his eyebrows at Kai.  
  
Kai laughed. "Rarely."  
  
Kai moved to the driver's side, opening the door. Rei was still gazing at the car.  
  
"Get it. She wont bite unless you want her to." Kai said, grinning.  
  
"Oh, right. I suppose I do have to get in if we want to go somewhere."   
  
Kai shut the car door, followed by Rei. "Not even to the gate and Kayla's already howling." Kai said, approaching the gate that guarded is large yard. Sighing, Kai opened the gate, letting Rei in before entering himself and shutting the gate behind him.   
  
Kai reached the door and unlocked it, stepping first in order to grab Kin's collar and hold the huge Newfoundland back. (A/N: Go, Kasey, go! Go, Kasey, go! RUN! Hey. Did you know that my dad works with Kasey Kahne's uncle? Bet you didn't. ^.^ )  
  
Rei was thrown back against the door when Kayla jumped, pushing his shoulders with her big paws. "Whoa. Hey there. You must be Kayla."  
  
The Rott barked, licking Rei's forehead.  
  
"Kayla. Down." Kayla obeyed, standing before Rei and looking up at him. "Good girl. I'm going to have to let Kin go, Rei. Beware. He wont go after you right now but he will when you're not paying attention."  
  
"That's not a good thing."  
  
"Heh. The dogs aren't the ones you need to worry about. Salem and Mouse are the trouble makers." Kai said, releasing Kin. The Newfy and Kayla left the room as Kai went to the closet to hunt down their leashes. "Hey, Rei?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Could you find the dog and cat food. They should be in one of the lower cabinets."  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
  
  
Rei wondered how Kai managed to keep his house so clean and not know where he kept things. -Unless he someone else cleaned his house. I'll have to ask him.- Rei knelt down and opened the first cabinet. Nothing but pots. He moved to the next one and was about to open it when there was a meow above him. He lifted his head and found Kai standing about him holding a glass and glaring at the gray-and-white cat that was crouched on the shelf above the counter.  
  
"What'd I miss?" Rei asked.  
  
"Besides Mouse trying to knock you out? Nothing." Kai responded, setting the glass on the counter and grabbing the gray-and-white cat. Rei decided that 'Mouse' was a good name for the cat. His colors kind of made him look like a mouse. He had mostly gray fur with white paws and a white chest.  
  
"Do they always do that?" Rei asked.  
  
"Attack my guests? All the time. With glasses? Never." Kai knelt next to Rei with Mouse on his shoulder. "I see you are about to find what you were looking for."  
  
"I have a question." Rei said as Kai dragged the unopened bags of dog and cat food out and set them on the counter.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"How can you keep your house so clean and not know where things are?"  
  
"I usually do know but my sister came by earlier today and chose to reorganize the whole house." Kai said, taking the two bags out to the living room and setting them with the two dog leashes. "Here. Hold Mouse. I'm going to go find Kayla and Kin. Salem will probably wander out here on his own."  
  
Rei cradled the purring cat in his arms, wondering if the cat would try and attack him or something. Most cats usually liked Rei so this was his first time having on -not- seem to like him. Another meow caught his attention and he looked down to see a sleek black cat standing on the arm of the couch next to Rei.  
  
"You would be Salem then?"  
  
The cat meowed again, leaping on to Kai's shoulder when the bartender came in. "Hey, Salem." Kai greeted before picking up both dog leashes and the two bags of dog food. "Come on." Kai said, going to the door. "Kayla. A little help?"  
  
The Rott stood on her hind legs and worked the doorknob until the door opened. "Thanks."  
  
Rei raised an eyebrow at Kai. "She's good."  
  
"Yeah. Luckily, she likes the trick too much to let Kin know how to do it." Kai said, leaving the house. Kayla closed the door by grabbing the handle in her mouth. She then trotted to Kai's side as he reached the gate. "Go ahead, Salem." The black cat, hardly visible, jumped on to the gate and reached out, lifting the latch with his paw.   
  
Rei shook his head. Kai had some intelligent animals.   
  
:) Yup. I'm leaving you there. It's 11:01 and I'm not in the mood to type anymore. Ah...Yeah. I wont be updating HoW until...Tuesday? I dunno. Sometime around then. Yeah. *Nods* Sorry. My hands are killing me. *Nods* Maybe I'll go WATCH the race. It's hard to understand an accident if I can't see it. I almost didn't that there WAS an accident. The radio people don't get all loud about it. Boring. Or maybe I'll play Final Fantasy 7...Or...*Thinks* I dunno. O.o Thanks for reading and please review! Later!  
  
Mr.Stuffy: You said you were going to update with Chapter 8.  
  
Wings: Shut up.  
  
Mr.Stuffy: You shouldn't tell them things that aren't true.  
  
Wings: Hmph.  
  
Mr.Stuffy: Don't 'hmph' me.   
  
Wings: You're just a stupid stuffed fox! Who cares what someone says to you!  
  
Mr.Stuffy: I know where you sleep!  
  
Wings: Yeah. Well I know where YOU sleep. And if it weren't for ME you wouldn't HAVE somewhere to sleep.  
  
Mr.Stuffy: Nooky thinks you move too much in your sleep.  
  
Wings: Nooky thinks no such thing! Right Nooky?  
  
Nanook: ...Mr.Stuffy better watch what he says...  
  
Nooky: I agree.  
  
Shadow: I disagree. It's awfully hard to watch what one says.  
  
Glacier: Ha-ha.  
  
Shadow: It was funny. Admit it.  
  
Glacier: No.  
  
Nanook: Dad. Glacier has no sense of humor.  
  
Nooky: She doesn't.  
  
Shadow: Obviously.  
  
Wings- SS's other/nick name.  
  
Mr.Stuffy- A little orange, white, and black stuffed fox.  
  
Nanook- The TY beanie baby Nanook ^.^ *Has had him since he first came out*  
  
Nooky- Stuffed animal version of Nanook (Also called Nook, Nook-Nook, and occasionally Nook-Nook Head. o.o)  
  
Shadow- TY Stuffed black lab (Came with the name of Cinders)  
  
Glacier- Teddybear (I know. I'm scary. But, I assure you, all of them but Mr. Stuffy are old. I do NOT buy stuffed animals anymore. Mr.Stuffy was a gift.)  
  
~*~In Loving Memory of Salem~*~  
  
1998-2003  
  
September 18th-- ? 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't even ask.  
  
Rating: You know ^.-  
  
Notes: I'm listening to some guy from the Abraham Lincoln sing Garth Brooks' 'Standing Outside The Fire'. He's pretty good but Garth is way better 3 Anyway! It's 6:30 in the morning and I have nothing to do. Finished getting ready for school and now I'm just deciding to type up the beginning of Chapter 3 here. Hum...I should do the next Chapter of WoD tonight...No. Not tonight. I have my Math and History tests tomorrow. So I'll type it tomorrow and post it on Friday. Kay. Yeah.  
  
--Dranzer-  
  
3  
  
Kai opened his door, letting Salem leap from his lap and on to the cement road. After Kai, Rei, and Mouse had exited the Mustang, Kai let the two dogs out.   
  
"Why bring leashes if you don't use them?" Rei asked Kai.  
  
"I always have them just in case." Kai responded, removing the two leashes and the bag of dog food from the trunk. "Can you get the cat food for me?"  
  
"I can." Rei said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Rei?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Get the cat food." Kai said, shaking his head.  
  
"Yes, sir." Rei smiled, taking the cat food from the trunk before shutting it.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"No problem."  
  
Kai whistled to the dogs who had ran of down the street a way. Both came back immediatly. "You two better behave yourselves or Salem and Mouse will teach you a lesson." Kai warned. Kayla wagged her stub of a tail and Kin barked.  
  
"Did you have their brains surgically removed and replaced by human brains?" Rei asked, staring at the two dogs. They were grinning at each other.  
  
"No way. They'd be idiots if I did that." Kai said as they entered the bar. Kai set the leashes and dog food on the counter. Rei followed suit with the cat food before they both sat down on the bar counter.  
  
"Have a nice drive?" Max asked. He was perched on the edge of on of the tables in the middle of the room. Tyson was sitting in a chair that he'd taken down from the same table. Kenny wasn't in the room.  
  
"The way there-yes. The way back-no." Kai said, glaring at Kin. "You'd think he'd found the sugar or something."  
  
"Who knows? You sister might have moved it someplace where he can get it and he probably watched her do it." Tyson said, grinning.  
  
"She better not have. I had it up there because it's the only place he can't get to."  
  
"Where was it?" Rei asked him, looking over at Kai.  
  
Kai smiled at him. "On the shelf in the hall closet." Kai said.  
  
"Well, think about it. He's still growing so he's going to be taller than you soon. So he'd be big enough to reach it soon enough." Rei said.  
  
"Heh. Yeah. He probably would, knowing him." Kai said.  
  
"Welcome back, you two." Kenny greeted as he came down the stairs from the cat-walk hallway. Kin's ears perked up a bit and he whirled to face Kenny.  
  
He might as well have yelled Kenny's name. His eyes lit up and his flew back and forth. With an echoing bark, Kin lunged at Kenny as he came down the stairs. Kenny fell back on the bottom step, yelping when Kin started licking his face furiously.  
  
"Kenny, look who we brought. It's your husband, Kin." Kai said.  
  
"Yeah...I kind of-HEY!- noticed! Kin! Please! Stop!" Kenny tried to shove Kin off of him but the dog wasn't done. He finished licking Kenny's face and grabbed his glasses before running to the other side of the bar.  
  
"Good luck getting those back." Tyson said.  
  
"Kin, give them back to Kenny." Kai said, shaking his head. Kin's tail drooped and he trotted forward, dropping the glasses in Kenny's hand. (A/N: It's 6:57 and I don't have my shoes on yet. Gotta stop for a few hours ^.^) (Next Day?- Kind of got a bit busy yesterday after I got home so I didn't finish this. Hum-hum)  
  
"You've gotta love them. They're brilliant and they obey orders." Tyson said. Rei shook his head, smiling.  
  
"One day, they wont obey you." Rei said.  
  
"When will that be?" Max asked.  
  
"When they're old or when they figure out that they're smarter than all of us." Rei answered, getting off the counter. Kai had already gotten off to lean on the edge of the counter. He was keeping an eye on Kayla and he didn't want to have to jump of the counter if she got in to trouble.  
  
Just as Rei was about to move forward to crouch and pet Mouse, Kin leapt at him, knocking him backwards into Kai. Rei swallowed, looking back at Kai who looked surprised. "Sorry."  
  
"I told you he'd get you when you weren't paying attention." Kai said. He realized then that he'd put an arm around Rei's waist in order to keep him from falling down. Blushing slightly, Kai released him. Rei straightened and eyed Kin. "He wont do it again. After he's gotten someone once, he's able to resist the urge to do it again." Kai assured him.  
  
"Okay." Rei sat down and allowed Mouse to curl up on his lap.  
  
"Hey, Kai. Wasn't your sister supposed to come to town this week?" Max asked, grinning. Kai glared at him and Tyson who both snickered. Thought neither of them had said anything when Kin had jumped at Rei, Kai knew that both had seen him blush.  
  
"She came this afternoon." Kai answered.  
  
"And she left already?"  
  
"Yeah. She's been really busy with her writing." Kai said, shrugging.   
  
"What does she write?" Rei asked.  
  
"Kyra writes novels and occasionally poetry." Kai told Rei.  
  
"Is she good?"  
  
"She's one of the only ones who doesn't think so. We do."  
  
"I'm the same way! I never think any of my stuff is good!" Tyson said.  
  
"It never is." Kai, Max, and Kenny said together.  
  
"Yeah, well, neither is yours, Max! Or yours, Kenny. Yours is all scientific and stuff. Boring!" Tyson said. "But you're really good Kai. Have you written anything new on that one story?"  
  
"I've had writer's block for the last two months." Kai growled.  
  
"I hate writer's block." Kenny said.  
  
"You write, Kai?" Rei asked.  
  
"Yeah, we all do. That's how the four of us met. In a creative writing class in High School." Kai said. "Hey, Max, do you still have the poem about the girl you had a crush on?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow at him.  
  
Max blushed. "Yes...Why?"  
  
"Just curious. Why'd you keep it. Do you still like her?"  
  
"No!" Max said quickly, looking flushed now.  
  
"Tch. Yeah, right. Anyone have a mirror? Max ought to see his face."  
  
Tyson snickered. "Kai's right, Maxie. You're really red. Come on, we wont make fun of you if you still like her. Kenny and I still like the girls we used to like!"  
  
"You...do?" Max asked.  
  
"Yeah." Kenny said, smiling. "You never liked anyone, did you Kai?" Kenny asked.  
  
Kai shook his head. "Never have."  
  
To his surprise, Rei found himself relieved to hear that.  
  
"How about you, Rei? Have you ever liked anyone?" Tyson asked.  
  
"No...Not really. I don't think so..."  
  
"Was that a no? I couldn't tell." Max said.  
  
"I'm not really sure." Rei said, his eyes slightly wide. -But I think I'm starting to like Kai, which could be bad...considering I just met him...But he's gorgeous! And he's nicer than almost anyone in the town...Damnit, Rei...-  
  
Heh. I said I was going to type WoD today and post it tomorrow. But I wont type up the next chapters until I can answer reviews. I had to delete the reviews I saved just so I could save a picture. A picture that wont even open on this comp. O.o It was a really funny screen-shot, too. *Growls* Well, I hope you liked that chapter ^.^ Yeah, once again, I'm make it really quick. Rei's starting to feel something for Kai and Kai is starting to start to feel something for Rei. ---Yes, that makes sense. ^.^ Thanks for reading and please review! Later! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Would the owner of Beyblade write fanfic?  
  
Rating: :) The usual  
  
Notes: I feel really stupid...*Mutters* I saved my reviews for this, I saved my reviews for HoW, I saved my review for Obsidian Estate...but guess what I DIDN'T save my reviews for...Yeah. WoD. Go figure, right? *Sighs* Sorry. I'll try and save reviews so I can update soon. Meanwhile, this is chapter 4 of Dranzer, I'll write chapter 3 of OE next and chapter 9 of HoW tomorrow. Just so you know, this chapter takes place three months after Chapter 3. :)  
  
Replies to ALL review ^.^:  
  
Devlinn Reiko- ^.^ Huh. That's funny. I go away for a whole week and only ONE of my favorite fics gets update. That would be 30 Years. Which I've been waiting for since...who knows when. ^.^ Thanks for the review.  
  
Bluumberry- 333 I'm really glad you like it. ^.^ Hey. Can you really imagine Rei ordering something at a bar? Well, not that I can imagine Max ordering anything either. Actually...he never ordered anything. Kai GAVE it to him. *Grin* Hehe. I was going to make it just one person who had taken Rei's job from him but I didn't think that be enough to really frustrate Rei. ^.^ *Tries her best to imagine Kai flirting with someone and grins* That's actually a really nice mental image. Kai the flirt *Snickers* If the whole thing with King hadn't gotten out of hand, I would have given you Rei's thoughts on what King said...But I needed a way to introduce Kenny and Tyson and that was my best chance. So...yeah. Of course Kai has dogs! ^.^ I would have given him a horse if I'd been able to bring the horse to the bar...but...Yeah. I love dogs and I love cats but I adore wolves and draft horses o.o Um...Let's think. The name of Kayla is the name of my friend who moved to Seattle a few years ago. She loved dogs. I just liked the word 'kin' so I named the Newfy that. Salem was actually my old cat but he disappeared in 2003...Mouse was his best friend. He's still alive. Lives two houses away. ^.^ *Is glad that people think her fics are different* I love writing fics that aren't following the path of others and I try to warp them a bit if they do follow others. ^.^ Thanks a ton for reviewing 333  
  
Shaka Dragomir Nocturnus- You have no idea how much fun it is to type your name XD And I love getting it right when I type it out. ANYWAY. Glad you like and I'm REALLY glad you plan on reading and reviewing the later chapters! Thanks for reviewing!   
  
Sarcasmcat- ^.^ I'm working on it. Glad you like it. Thanks for the review!  
  
Shadows of Grey- ^.^; I'm working as fast as I can! I often post two chapters at a time if I find that I do have a chance to get on the computer for a long period of time. ^.^ Thank you VERY much for the compliment. I've probably never told my reviewers this...but every time someone says that I'm a good writer or anything along those lines, it helps me in writing my original stories. So thank you -very- much. Whoa! Wait! No! *Shakes head* Not more important than school! O.o I wouldn't be typing this if school was less important. I'd be an idiot and I wouldn't know how to write. No failing! Bad-bad. *Shuts up because she's failing math* I don't get it. I'm failing math but my teacher still wants me to go in to Integrated 2.0 next year o.o Anyway. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Kaiswings- No! You can't cry! *Searches frantically for a tissue but realizes that she used them all when she was sick. *Hugs* Don't cry! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Ashla- I feel weird replying to reviews from a few chapters ago...But oh-well! Glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for reviewing!   
  
Filter Girl- ^.^ Yay. Another person thinks it's different! *Happy today* Thank you very much and thanks for reviewing!  
  
Devlinn Reiko- heh. I wish my dogs were even as smart as TYSON. *Shakes head* Well. One of them, my baby, is a very smart dog. *Wonders if she still know the hand signals she taught him* *Sighs* We have a German Shepherd as well. And two golden retrievers. All three are pure-bred. My baby is the oldest, one of the golden retrievers. The second oldest is the stupidest dog ever. The youngest, the German Shepherd, is in between the other two. He's not even a year yet and he's smarter than the three year old moron. ^.^ Dale is my baby, named after Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Monte is the moron, named after the Monte Carlo (Which Dale raced) and the German Shepherd is Bristol, named after the short track. Which is the race of Chapter 9 for HoW! ^.^ Wow. I'm just talking a lot, aren't I. *Better shut up* Well, anyway. Thanks for reviewing! 33  
  
Shaka Dragomir Nocturnus- ^.^ Thanks. I love cats too. Except for my ten-year-old who's been trying to sleep with me for the last week. I wont let him because, every time he shakes his head, black chunks of stuff flies from his ears and sticks to everything. They looks like burnt earwax and it's all over my sister's wall. O.o It's nasty. You can't even vacuum them off of the walls. They're stuck. *Shudders* ANYWAY! Thanks for reviewing! 3  
  
Ashla- I'm trying to type two chapters at a time but I never finish the second o.o Thanks for reviewing!  
  
anime AndrAIa- I don't recognize your name, Filter Girl, or Shadows of Grey. 33 New reviewers are almost as special as constant reviewers. Almost. Devlinn, Bluumberry, Sarcasmcat, and Ashla are constants 33 I think I recognize Kaiswings but I'm not sure. O.o Sorry Kaiswings. Anyway. Back to the review. ^.^ Glad you liked the chapter. I hope to get Chapter 5 up soon after this one. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Devlinn Reiko- ^.^ Do you sit on the comp and wait until the moment someone posts to read? Not that I'm complaining. I love it! I'm glad you reviewed right away. I wanted to wait until I got a review for Ch. 3 before I started Ch. 4 33 ^.- I was thinking about not doing that part but, once I had typed it out, I loved it, too. Hehe. Tyson's never going to let Kai forget it. *Snickers* I wanna thank you a million times, Dev. You've been an excellent reviewer and I always love reading your reviews, long or short. ^.^ Thanks a lot for your encouragement and thanks for sticking with me (Even if I haven't put DogsBody on hold at the library so I could finish Ch. 13) ^.^ Thanks for reviewing 33  
  
I also want to thank Bluumberry and Shaka. You two have been a lot of help as well. ^.^ Thanks a ton for sticking with me.  
  
--Dranzer-  
  
4  
  
Rei pushed the door of the Cat Rescue open and waved to the girl at the front desk. "See you later, Lin." Rei said.   
  
"Have a good day, Rei." Lin said. She looked back at her computer for a moment and then, suddenly remembering something, she rushed to the door and pushed it open. "Rei! Wait!"  
  
Rei stopped, turning around. "Yeah?" He called back.  
  
"Could you call this man for me and tell him that his two cats are due for a check-up?" Lin asked, waving a piece of paper with a phone number in the air.  
  
"Sure thing."  
  
"Thanks a ton."  
  
"No problem. Later."   
  
"Bye."  
  
Rei shut his apartment door behind him, tossing his jacket over the back of one of the dining room chairs. "Maybe I should go for a walk or something." Rei said to his apartment, gazing around. "After I call him that is." He said after a moment. Sighing, Rei picked up the portable phone, punched in the number on the slip of paper, and walked out to the little apartment's porch. After a few rings, someone answered the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Kai?" Rei seemed was shocked for a moment but it wore off. Kai -did- have two cats. In fact, when Lin had said that the man had two cats, his first thought had been of Kai. Not that his every other thought wasn't already of the silver-haired bartender.  
  
"Rei?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm supposed to be calling you to tell you that Salem and Mouse are due for check-ups. Lin never told me who I was calling." Rei said, smiling to himself as he stared out at the street.  
  
"She wouldn't. She never gives more information than you need. I'm assuming you got the job, then?" Kai sounded pleased.  
  
"Yeah. Thanks a lot, Kai. I'm starting to get used to it and it's a lot of fun. Sorry I haven't been around to see you guys in the last two months. We've been really busy with the cats. They're really fussy after being moved from the old building."  
  
"When are they supposed to be moved back?" Kai asked.  
  
"Next week."  
  
"That's going to suck." Kai commented.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Rei asked.  
  
"Well, they're still fussy even after three of four months being there. How do you think they'll feel being moved again right after being settled in?"   
  
"Good point. So...How've you been?" Rei wanted to know. He was leaning forward on the porch railing now, smiling to himself.   
  
"Not too bad, actually. We've gotten a few more newcomers in the last month. All female though. That's never any fun." Kai responded.  
  
"Why not?" Rei asked.  
  
"Half of the females around here are sluts. Why else? And the male race is much better company."  
  
"Are you telling me you're gay then?"  
  
"I wont deny it. I have a growing hatred for women." Kai said. "Tyson, please don't overfeed Kin. He's fat enough already." Kai called.  
  
"You at work already?" Rei asked.  
  
"Yeah. Kenny wants to open up a bit early today since it's darker earlier and he wants to go to bed sooner tonight." Kai answered. He wondered for a moment at how Rei didn't seem to mind his answer to the former question but he shrugged it off when Rei spoke again.  
  
"I think I'll come by in a while. I need to get out of the apartment for a change. I'll probably go for walk or something." Rei said.  
  
"That'd be great. Maybe the girls will drool over you instead." Kai muttered.  
  
"Hey. Don't go throwing your problems my way." Rei protested.  
  
Kai laughed, causing Rei to smile again. "Why not? You seem to handle problems pretty well!"  
  
"Not true. I handle problems horribly."  
  
"You took care of your job problem!" Kai replied.  
  
"No, Kai. YOU took care of my job problem." Rei retorted, chuckling. "Thanks again, Kai."  
  
"Stop thanking me. I'm sick of being thanked for everything. There should be a better way for people to show their gratitude."  
  
"Like?" Rei challenged.  
  
"I don't know! Keeping their mouths shut?"  
  
Rei didn't respond.  
  
"That doesn't apply to you, Rei."  
  
"Oh? But how else am I to show my gratitude?" Rei asked.  
  
"Figure something else but if you ever thank me again..."  
  
"What'll you do?"  
  
"I don't know yet. Give me a moment to think..."  
  
"Moment's over. What will you do if I thank you again?"  
  
"Rei. Why don't you go for a walk and I'll figure something out while we wait for you?" Kai said, laughing.  
  
"Fine, then. See you in a while. And, meanwhile, thanks again Kai."  
  
"Rei!"  
  
Rei hung up, smiling to himself.  
  
  
  
When Rei opened the door to the bar, he was greeted by music and Tyson singing. Raising his eyebrows, he searched the room. Tyson was sitting by a speaker, singing his heart out and Max was perched on a table, laughing uncontrollably. Kenny was sitting on the stairs, typing away. Rei finally looked over to Kai who was sitting on the edge of the bar counter, smiling and shaking his head at Tyson and Max.  
  
"Hey everyone." Rei greeted. Kai and Kenny looked over and greeted him while Max tried to contain his laughter. Tyson waved but kept singing to whatever he was listening to.  
  
"Hey, Rei. Have a nice walk?" Kai asked.  
  
"Yeah. Besides the point that some little terrier was trying to chase me through the park. Pretty amusing, actually. He couldn't keep up even when I was walking." Rei said, sitting on a stool near to where Kai was perched on the counter.  
  
"Thirsty?" Kai asked.  
  
"Terribly."  
  
"Be right back, then." Kai got off the counter, slipping through the little swinging door to grab a glass from the other side. He filled it with water and took it to Rei before sitting on the stool next to his.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Kai eyed him.  
  
"Sorry, kind of forgot about that. You think of anything?"  
  
"Sure you forgot. And -no-. I haven't thought of anything. If Tyson would calm down a bit, I might be able to -hear- myself think." Kai looked thoughtfully at Tyson. The navy-haired man was laying on the floor and singing with his eyes closed. Max had stopped laughing and caught Kai's eye. Kai nodded to him and Max grinned.  
  
Getting off of the table, Max went to the radio and flipped it off. All that could be heard was Tyson yelling/singing the song at the top of his lungs. After a moment, he stopped and opened his eyes to find everyone watching him. "That. Is. NOT. Funny." Tyson said, sitting up.  
  
"Sorry, Tyson, but it was." Kenny said, grinning.  
  
"I hate you guys. Not you, Rei. I know you didn't do anything." Tyson said.  
  
"Sure. Make Rei the good guy." Max said, grinning.  
  
"Why not? He IS the good guy. Compared to all of you. And I KNOW you started it, Kai. Stop smiling! Damnit. I hate you all."  
  
"We know." Max and Kenny both said.  
  
"Oh, Kaa-ai." Someone called from the door.  
  
"Damnit..." Kai muttered, rolling his eyes. "Look, Rei. It's the Slut Team." Kai growled. "Wanna meet them?"  
  
"Not really." Rei murmured, glaring at the three women. The leader sneered at him, walking forward.   
  
"Well, well. What do we have here? You must be -new-. We should teach you the rules." The woman's nose scrunched up as she looked down at Rei. "What should we teach you first? How about this: No one but -us- are allowed to sit by Kai."  
  
"Fuck off, Victoria." Kai growled, his crimson eyes seeming to glow.  
  
"Kai? I figured you'd -want- us to teach him the rules. I mean, you wouldn't want a low-life like -him- getting too close to you, would you?"  
  
"If anyone's a low-life, it's you, Victoria. Either you leave Rei alone or get out of here. You've been irritating me since you came and I'm sick of you." Kai hissed, standing up.  
  
"Oh, but Kai...We were going to give you something tonight. You'd like it. Why don't you let us show you..." One of Victoria's companions purred, stepping through the haze of Victoria's cigarette smoke.  
  
"I don't want -any- of you anywhere -near- me. You either go somewhere else in the damned room or leave altogether." Kai snapped.  
  
"You don't want it then? It'll be great, Kai...Trust us..." The third women hissed.  
  
"Damnit, get the hell out of here!" Kai growled, stepping closer. "Now."  
  
"But Kai, you know we'll be back..."  
  
"No, Victoria. You wont." Kai growled. "The next time you so much as open the door of this bar, I'll drag you across the street myself. Now get -out-." Kai ordered.  
  
With a final angry glare at Rei, the three women headed for the door. Victoria paused to look back at Kai. "I'll warn you now, Kai. You wont want to hang around him for too long. I heard he's never had a girlfriend before...And you know what that must mean..." Laughing harshly, Victoria glided out the door and slammed it shut behind her.  
  
"Stupid slut..." Tyson snarled, getting up and moving to stand in front of Kai's stool. "Don't mind her, Kai. You know she's just as bad as her mother."  
  
"Don't remind me." Kai muttered, sitting back down on the stool. "Her mother was horrid."  
  
"You met her mother?" Rei asked.  
  
"Yeah. That's why she came here. Her dear -mother- told her to." Kai responded.  
  
"So, Rei. You really haven't ever had a girlfriend. Is what Victoria was implying...right then?" Tyson asked.  
  
Rei reddened slightly. "Uhm..."  
  
"We're not going to bother you about it, Rei. Both Max and I are anyway. Kai probably is too but who knows." Tyson only grinned when Kai kicked him. "Well, it's true. -You've- never dated either."  
  
"So what?" Kai muttered.  
  
"Was she right then, Rei?"  
  
Rei dropped his eyes to the floor. "Yeah...I guess so."  
  
"I kind of had a feeling. But don't even think about going after Max. He's mine." Tyson said.  
  
Rei blushed. "I-"  
  
"I was just kidding Rei. I know you wouldn't go after Max. Calm down. Oh, Kai. I was wondering. About what King said when Rei first came."  
  
"What about it?" Kai looked at Tyson, eyes narrowed.  
  
"-Were- you flirting with Rei?" Tyson asked. Before Rei could blink, Kai had chased Tyson to the other side of the room and had him in a headlock. "Hey! Come on, Kai! It was an innocent question!"  
  
"I hate you, Tyson." Kai growled.  
  
"No you don't! I'm your best friend, remember! We go way back!" Tyson declared.  
  
"Too far, if you ask me." Kai retorted.  
  
"Lemme go?"  
  
"I don't know yet. I think I'll keep you here for a while." Kai responded, leaning on Tyson.  
  
"Hey! If I lose my balance, you're going down with me!" Tyson yelled.  
  
"What makes you so sure?"  
  
"Meanie!" Tyson said, sounding purposely childish. When Kai leaned on Tyson even more, the younger man stumbled and fell. Kai released him, easily keeping his balance. From the floor, Tyson looked up at Kai. "I love you?"  
  
"Yeah, right. I should have told Max that you had a huge crush on him when you told me in 8th grade." Kai said.  
  
"Whoa! You had a crush on me in eighth grade? I thought it was just from 10th and on!" Max exclaimed, jumping off of the table where he'd re-seated himself.  
  
"What, you never told him, Tyson?" Kai smirked.  
  
"Uh...Well...No...I guess I never did..."  
  
From where he was seated on his bar stool, Rei watched the scene before him, thinking about what Tyson had said. When King at spoken that first time, Rei hadn't thought that King meant it. But, as he thought about it now, he wondered if Kai -had- been flirting. -Tch. Yeah, right, Rei. Like Kai would want to flirt with you...You'd just lost you job to a fifteen year-old!- Rei told himself. But he couldn't help it...He really hoped that Kai might have been flirting with him. Yeah...throughout the month after he'd first met Kai, Rei had continued to visit the bar and slowly figured it out...He -was- starting to like Kai...Big time...'Like' being a bit of an understatement.   
  
A booming bark sounded as Kayla and Kin tore around the corner of the catwalk-hall. Kenny yelped and rushed off the stairs and on to the bar counter. Being short, he was fairly scared of the two big dogs.  
  
Kin and Kayla thundered down the stairs and split up. Kin ran to Rei, throwing his gigantic paws on to Rei's chest and rubbing his big head against Rei's chest. "Uhm...Hey there, Kin. Long-time no see."  
  
Kayla rushed to Kai, barking as she leapt around him, her stub of a tail wagging frantically.  
  
"What is it Kayla?" Kai asked, looking down at her. She continued to bark as she ran to Rei, shoving Kin aside and leaping straight in to Rei's lap. Rei blinked in shock, instinctively putting and arm on either side of the Rott to keep her from falling. Kin stood aside, waving his long black tail. "Kayla!" Kai called, quickly moving forward. "Sorry, Rei. She's a bit excited I guess. Kai pulled Kayla off of Rei's lap only to be shoved from behind by Kin. Kai cursed when his forehead struck Rei's.   
  
Rei rubbed his forehead, trying to blink away the black spots the danced in his vision.  
  
"Damnit. You alright, Rei?" Kai asked, stepping back again, once hand pressed to his forehead. He too was trying to blink was dancing black spots.  
  
"Yeah, I think so. You?"  
  
"Once I can see properly, I'll be fine." Kai responded.  
  
"That hurt."  
  
"Hell yeah."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Kin shoved Kai. And Kai, I think he did it on purpose." Kenny commented.  
  
"No shit, Sherlock. I'll give you a head start, Kin. Run like hell." Kai said. Kin barked and bolted, leaping at the bar door to push it open and racing off into the night. "Screw the head start. I'll be back." Kai shot off after Kin.  
  
"Might want to follow him before he strangles Kin." Kenny said.  
  
"I suppose. We'll be back." Rei hurried to catch up with Kai.  
  
Poor Kai. Even the -dogs- are picking on him. ^.^ Okay. I had a ton of fun typing that chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did! I should have posted OE Ch. 3 and HoW Ch 9 by the time you're reading this. ^.^ Thanks a bunch for reading and please review.  
  
Chapter Dedicated to Devlinn Reiko, Bluumberry, and Shaka Dragomir Nocturnus. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Don't own it.  
  
Rating: Same old.  
  
Notes: Stupid cold came back again so I'm home sick. I almost fell asleep watching Dawson's Creek because my mom made me take Benedryl. *Rubs head* What am I writing this chapter for? *Can't remember if it's for Dranzer or OE.* Uhm...Yeah...Oh, well. Reviews for...Uhm...Yeah. Whatever is in front of me.  
  
Devlinn Reiko- ^.^ Don't be thanking me. All I did was thank -you-. ^.^ You're lucky. I need a laptop or something so I always know when someone reviews or posts an update. O.o I actually don't get many alerts for chapter updates because none of my favorite authors update a lot. O.o You and Bluum aren't too bad about it but I still wish I could see more of your guys' stuff. Anywho, thanks for reviewing!  
  
Shaka- I find it amusing to think of Tyson singing at the top of his lungs and everyone just staring at him like he's gone crazy. ^.^ Thanks for reviewing.  
  
DragonBlade- ^.^ I'm having trouble figuring out how to work this chapter with Kai chasing Kin and all. I've got an idea but it just seems like it's too soon to do it...Thing is, my idea includes Kin and all so I can't wait to do it later. Oh, well. It can be as soon as I want it. O.o I don't think any of you will mind. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Later Note: *Shakes her head* I SWEAR that my step brother was born freaking brainless. He seems to think that my parents are stupid. *Growls* My mom's been real nice to him. Letting him go to his friend's house and even staying out an hour later than normal. And all of this after he failed next to all of his classes. It's unbelievable how he treats her. He was allowed to stay out until 6:00 PM today and he comes back at 6:50 saying he and his friend Cory ran to his other friend's house real quick. Tch. Guess who came to ask if Mr. Brainless was here about two minutes before Mr. Brainless got home? None other than CORY. *Snarls* So he starts telling my parents a bunch of crap. *Grins now* And only got yelled at by my mom because of something he said to her. Then my step-dad got really mad at him for saying that. *Cheers for her parents* As much as I hate my step-dad sometimes, he's really nice as long as nothing goes wrong at work and stuff. o.o Anyway...To the chapter...  
  
Dranzer  
  
5  
  
By the time Rei had caught up to Kai, they were nearing the park that was a few blocks down from Dranzer and Kai was nearly close enough to grab Kin's tail. The Newfoundland bounded into the grass where the park began and Kai tackled him and pinned him there.  
  
"I want revenge, Kin. And you know how I get revenge?" Kai asked, staring down at the big, black dog. Rei wondered later if Kai hadn't done this many times before because Kin's eyes went wide and he began to struggle. And, though his tail was wagging, he yelped in protest.  
  
Grinning, Kai felt along his ribs before beginning to scratch Kin furiously behind the ribs. Despite Kin's attempts to keep it still, his left back leg began to twitch frantically and his tongue rolled out of his mouth.   
  
"Yeah. I had a feeling you knew what I was talking about you big rat." Kai said. After a couple of minutes, Kai sat up and released Kin. "Go on. Before Kayla comes out and drags you back herself." Kai said. Kin wagged his tail and nudged Kai's cheek with his nose. With a soft bark, Kin trotted off, waving his tail at Rei as he did so.  
  
"I've never seen a dog take that so well." Rei said. "Last time my mother tried that on a dog, it wouldn't stop nipping her all day."  
  
"Have -you- ever done it?" Kai asked, looking up at him from his position in the grass.  
  
"Heh. Not since I was young. My dog bit me." Rei said, smiling.  
  
Kai grinned. "I'm guessing you've never cared for dogs." Kai looked in the direction that Kin had gone.   
  
"I didn't mind them until I was bitten but I don't have anything against them. I just wouldn't own one myself." Rei said. Because of the darkness, Rei didn't catch the slightly disappointed look on Kai's face. "Well, that actually isn't true. If I found a dog like Kayla or Kin, I'd gladly take it. They're brilliant, Kai."  
  
The disappointment left Kai's face and he smiled proudly. "Yeah...Then again, if you think -they're- smart, you should meet Hikiuma. She lives with my sister but she's still mine." Kai said. With a sigh, he fell back in the grass. "I should go see her after I take the cats in tomorrow. My sister says she's been a big out of sorts..." Kai murmured. Rei wasn't sure if he was talking to him or just the air around him.  
  
"Is she sick?" Rei asked, sitting down beside Kai in the grass. He absentmindedly started to pick at the grass as he spoke. "And is she what her name says she is?" Rei asked.  
  
Kai smiled. "Yeah. She's huge, too. But we don't know if she's sick or if it's just her age. I only hope that nothing happens to her...I mean, I always hope nothing happens to any of my pets. But she's such a great mare."  
  
"What's she like?" Rei asked.  
  
"She's fairly stubborn but it doesn't seem to stop her from doing almost everything you ask her to. Maybe it's just the things she knows aren't good for you or her that she wont do. It seems that way..." Kai smiled as he spoke. "She knows four languages. English, Japanese, German, and Russian. She's best with the first three though. She doesn't seem to remember everything I teach her in Russian." Kai said, shrugging.  
  
"You know Russian?" Rei sounded slightly surprised.   
  
"I am Russian." Kai answered.   
  
"Oh." Rei smiled. "I can never tell."  
  
Kai chuckled, looking over at Rei. "I'm guessing you're Chinese?"  
  
"It's that's obvious?" Rei asked.  
  
Kai smiled. "Yeah. Considering you're wearing a Chinese outfit."  
  
"Yes, that would kind of give it away I suppose."   
  
"We should get back before they start to worry." Kai said, sighing.  
  
"I guess we should." Rei brushed the little pile of grass off of his lap and started to get up.  
  
"Hey...Rei?" Kai said, looking off in the other direction.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"When we were talking on the phone earlier...and you asked me if it meant I was gay..."  
  
"I didn't mean anything by it, Kai." Rei said, worried that he'd offended him.  
  
"No, no. I know you didn't. But...I...guess I wanted to tell you that I am. Tyson and the others know and I wanted you to know, too." Kai murmured, shrugging.  
  
"That's a relief." Rei sighed.  
  
"What do you mean?" Kai asked, looking over at him.  
  
"I am as well. I guess I never really thought of it until a few months ago but I really haven't ever cared for girls. Ever." Rei smiled a bit. "I think I realized that a while after I met you."  
  
Kai looked slightly confused and he sat up, head tilted slightly. "Okay. You lost me a bit."  
  
"Need a map?"  
  
"Yeah. Might you have one?"  
  
"Of course. Want to see?"  
  
"I would appreciate it."  
  
"Mmkay."  
  
*Cackles* Thought you were going to get something out of this, didn't you? Yeah. I left you at a cliffy. *Grins* I'm hoping you all understood what Rei and Kai were talking about in those last five lines. *Drools* Yeah. I'm not going to say it if you don't. You'll have to wait and see. It's obvious, I think...o.o Well. Hope you all enjoyed that. It was short, I know, but I'm rushed. Sister needs the comp for homework. Anywho. Thanks for reading and please review! Later! *Trots off* Oh! *Stops* I'm hoping to get online this weekend and scan the pictures of wolf Kai and Rei that I drew. -I- like them and I hope you all will too! Especially the first one I did! *Runs away* 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Don't own Beyblade and I'm thinking of not doing the disclaimer for chapter fics after the first few chapters. Same with rating.  
  
Rating: Same old.  
  
Notes: Home sick -again-. I hardly slept at all last night. With my cold and the fact that my parents are probably going to send my dog to the pound...One of the other dogs piddled last night and my baby went to sniff it. Duh, he's a dog. So my mom shoved him away and he growled at her. She hit him or something so he bit her. I didn't even think he bit her until she showed me her hand because I only saw him bare his teeth...I don't blame him though. She hit him. Wouldn't -she- hit back if someone hit her? He's a -dog-. What do you expect? She said it herself that he never gets in trouble. He's our best behaved dog. We've never had him on a leash in our yard because he's never tried to leave it. Not even when we first got him as a puppy. He's never had accidents in the house unless he gets scared or overly excited and he's smart. I don't understand how the pets that I care most about are always the ones we lose. Our first dog in this house, Khuss (not 'cuss' it's 'chuss' Swedish I think for kiss), she was a lab/chow mix. Sweetest dog I've ever known. They got rid of her because they said my little brother was allergic to dog fur. Turns out it was the cold, not the dog hair. My cat, Salem, wasn't allowed in the house and neither was our other cat. Five years after we got Salem, he disappears. After that? The other cat's allowed in the house because he's -old-. Two of my babies gone and now they want to take Dale away. *Growls* Now I sound like I'm searching for sympathy o.o Don't mind me. Had to put that down somewhere and I really don't have anywhere else to put it. Here's Chapter 6.  
  
Dranzer  
  
6  
  
"Salem! If you put a single claw in the leather I'll have you de-clawed." Kai threatened, glaring at the black cat in the rearview mirror. Salem flicked his tail and turned away to look out one of the Mustang's windows. "You wouldn't like that, would you?" Kai asked. Salem gave him a 'no-shit-sherlock' look before returning his gaze to the approaching shelter.  
  
Mouse made a chirping sound at the sight of the rescue shelter and looked over at Kai from his place in the passenger's seat.  
  
"Yeah, I know. They had to move it for a few months." Kai told Mouse. Mouse twitched his whiskers in disapproval and looked back at Salem. The black tom seemed to shrug.   
  
Kai parked the Mustang in the parking lot and opened his door. Once out, he waited for Salem and Mouse to follow him before closing the door. "Let's not visit the queens this time, okay? It's a waste of time." Kai told the two toms as they approached the shelter entrance. Salem ignored the comment and Mouse only flicked an ear back. It was clear that they weren't agreeing not to. "Great..."Kai muttered as he opened the shelter door and let the two cats in before stepping in himself.  
  
"Hey there, Kai! Glad you could come today. I was starting to worry that you wouldn't bring them in." Lin said, coming around the desk to greet Kai and the two cats. "Hello Mouse, Salem."  
  
"If these two would have kept out of trouble in the first place, I wouldn't have to come here. But, since they chose not to be as good as I'd hoped, I'm forced to." Kai responded.  
  
"That's not true. If you didn't bring them to their check-ups and they -were- somehow injured, then they'd cause less trouble." Lin said, picking up Salem who was trying to sneak off to see the queens.  
  
"Don't give him any ideas, Lin." Rei said, coming from the room that held the pregnant or nursing queens. "Hey, Kai."  
  
"Hey, Rei."  
  
"Wait a moment. You two know each other?" Lin asked, looking from one to the other.  
  
"Kai's the one who told me you guys were looking for help." Rei said.  
  
"Don't even start." Kai said, eyeing Rei. Rei smiled.  
  
"Why not? You haven't thought of something, have you?" Rei asked, picking Mouse up. He, too, had tried to sneak past them and into the room behind Rei.  
  
"No, but that doesn't mean I wont. Lin, how long do you think it'll take?" Kai asked.  
  
"Quite a while, Kai. Sorry, but we're extremely busy. Salem and Mouse will have to wait for their turn." Lin said, shrugging. You can stay if you want. I'm sure Rei wouldn't mind your help. It's just us two today, seeing as no one wants to work on Sundays. And everyone who isn't at home is at the fair." Lin said.  
  
"Alright." Kai sighed.   
  
"Sorry." Lin said again before carrying Salem in to another of the back rooms.   
  
"Be right back, love." Rei said as he followed Lin into the other room to get Salem and Mouse settle in to one of the waiting cages.  
  
When Rei returned, he shut the door behind him and looked at the clock. "Damn, time passes too quick. Mind helping me feed the kittens?" Rei asked.  
  
"Not at all." Kai responded. Rei smiled and led Kai into the back room that was situated behind the front desk. "One question."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"If neither of you are at the front desk, what'll you do if someone comes in?" Kai asked as Rei handed him a warm bottle of milk.  
  
"Good question. Lets feed the kittens out there." Rei said. "Ever fed a kitten before?" Rei asked as he picked up one of the little felines and handed it to Kai.  
  
"Both Salem and Mouse." Kai answered as he accepted the silver-furred kitten.  
  
"Good. Then I don't have to explain it to you." Rei said, gentle picking up an orange tabby and shutting the cage. "You and Kenny opening early tonight?" Rei asked when the two were seated at the front desk feeding the first two kittens.  
  
"Kenny will be. I'm going to visit my sister to see how Hikiuma is doing. And to see my old dogs. I guess my parents took them to live with my sister." Kai said.  
  
"How old are they?"  
  
"Well, we got Khuss when I was...8 I think. So she's probably about...Oh, wow. She's sixteen. I haven't really thought about how old she is...Dale's 14 now. So they're both old. We got Dale when I was ten."  
  
"They must be well cared for. What kind of dogs are they?" Rei asked.  
  
"Khuss is a lab/chow mix. We got her from the Humane Society when she was three." Kai smiled at the memory. "The papers that they had said she was good with all animals and her best friend used to be a pot-bellied pig. Dale is a purebred golden retriever. We got him as a puppy. They're both brilliant. And, as much as I love Kayla and Kin, Dale and Khuss are the best dogs I've ever had..."  
  
"I can tell you miss them." Rei said, smiling at Kai.  
  
"Yeah. I haven't seen them since I was 18. Six years." Kai said. "Hey, Rei?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Are you working tomorrow?" Kai asked, looking over at him.  
  
"No. I'm taking next week off. Rena wanted more work next week to make up for her absences. Why?"  
  
"Would you want to come with me? I think you'd like my sister and I want you to meet Hikiuma." Kai said, setting the bottle on the desk and stroking the kitten's back.  
  
"I would love to!" Rei responded, visibly pleased with the invitation.  
  
"When will you be out of here?" Kai asked, glad to see that Rei was happy to go with him.  
  
"Three o'clock. When are you leaving?" Rei asked, standing up to retrieve another bottle and kitten for the both of them. Kai followed him.  
  
"We should be at the airport by six. The plane is supposed to leave at seven." Kai told him.  
  
"Where does she live, anyway?" Rei asked, taking Kai's kitten and exchanging it for a Siamese kitten. Rei picked up a white kitten, shut the cage and handed Kai another warm bottle before picking one up himself. They returned to the front desk and sat down.  
  
"Washington." Kai said.  
  
"Now I'm trying to decided whether it's better to fly from here to Russia or from here to Washington." Rei said.   
  
"I think here to Russia is shorter. I'm not really liking the idea of flying a few hours across the Pacific Ocean either." Kai looked up when the glass door was pushed open and four people came in.  
  
"Hiya, Rei." One of the two girls greeted, leaning forward on the desk. The other girl smiled and waved to Rei and the two boys with them said 'hello'.  
  
"Hey guys. What are you four doing here? I figured you'd be at the fair." Rei said.  
  
"Well, we -were- on our way but -Bri- wanted to stop buy and pester you." The second girl said, tucking her black hair behind her ear and glaring at the blond.  
  
"Oh, shut-up Sal. At least -I- was worried that Rei might be lonely. I mean, the only person he has as company today is that stupid Lin girl." Bri said.  
  
Kai glared at her. "Lin isn't stupid." Kai growled.  
  
Bri hadn't realized Kai was there. She looked at him, eyes wide. "Oh, wow. Who are you?" She asked. Rei glared at her.   
  
"His name is Kai. And he's right. Lin isn't stupid." Rei told her.  
  
"Rei, she's not the good-friend type." Bri said. Kai got the feeling that she considered herself the center of the universe.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with Lin, Bri. She's a great friend." Rei retorted.  
  
"Bri, you don't even know Lin. So back off." One of the guys said.  
  
"Thank you, Chase." Sal and Rei both said.  
  
"Let's go. Before Bri says anything else." The second male said.   
  
"If only we'd thought of that sooner." Sal muttered, shoving Bri towards the door. "See you, Rei. And sorry about Bri."  
  
"It's alright. Have fun."  
  
"Hey, do you want to go to the fair with us tomorrow?" Chase asked.  
  
"I can't. I wont be here. When will we be back, Kai?" Rei asked,  
  
"Saturday." Kai answered.  
  
"Ooh. Where are you going, Rei?" Bri asked.  
  
"Nowhere." Sal and Rei said together. "We're not related." Sal added.  
  
"Not at all." Rei laughed.  
  
"Bye, Rei. Have fun wherever you're going." Sal called as the four left the shelter.  
  
"I still don't understand why we put up with Bri." Rei said, shaking his head.  
  
"I don't see why you do either." Kai said. "Sal reminds me of my sister though."   
  
"Really? Then I think I'll like your sister."  
  
"How are you related? You look nothing alike." Kai asked.  
  
"She's my niece. My brother's daughter."  
  
"Your brother is how much older than you?"  
  
"I don't even want to know." Rei said.  
  
Kai thought about it for a moment. "Okay. Nevermind. I don't want to know either. She's the same age as you?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"That's not a happy thought."  
  
"I agree."  
  
"What time is it?" Kai asked. The clock was behind him and he didn't want to wake up the kitten that had fallen asleep in his lap.  
  
"One-thirty."  
  
"I don't want to wake her up." Kai said, looking down at the kitten.  
  
"You don't have to. I'm sure you can manage to feed others without waking her."  
  
"Yeah. I think I can, too."  
  
"I'll go get another."  
  
"Alright."  
  
o.o Yeah. I love Siamese cats. My grandma on my real dad's side used to have one. Mai-Tai was her name. Which gives me an idea...Yeah. I'm going to go ahead and have Kai take the Siamese. O.o and name it Mai-Tai. Yeah. And then I'll end up giving him or Rei a cat name Mussie which is my grandma's other cat. She's still alive but Mai-Tai isn't. Mussie has cancer though. Or did. o.o Their names are interesting. Mai-Tai is an alcoholic drink of some sort and Mussie means mustache in Swedish. O.o Yeah. Anyway. The names of Rei's friends...Bri is someone who lives in my neighborhood who used to be a friend but turned all popular on us and...yeah. Sal is a friend of mine online and I just like the name. Chase was random and the other guy has no name. ^.^; Does anyone here even know what Hikiuma means? I don't think I told you in Ch. 5. Yeah. Thanks for reading and please review! Later! Oh, yeah. o.o I was reading Chapter 4 and I got to the part where Kai and Rei are talking on the phone. For some reason, my computer took off the end of the conversation and replaced it with boxes. O.o I don't have any idea why but I'm hoping that it wasn't like that when I posted it. I don't think it was because no one said anything...*Stops to listen to The Dance 3*  
  
Dedicated to Khuss, Salem, and Dale. 333  
  
Looking back on the memory of   
  
The dance we shared beneath the stars alone   
  
For a moment all the world was right   
  
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye   
  
And now I'm glad I didn't know   
  
The way it all would end the way it all would go   
  
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain   
  
But I'd of had to miss the dance   
  
Holding you I held everything   
  
For a moment wasn't I a king   
  
But if I'd only known how the king would fall   
  
Hey who's to say you know I might have changed it all   
  
And now I'm glad I didn't know   
  
The way it all would end- the way it all would go   
  
Our lives are better left to chance -I could have missed the pain   
  
But I'd of had to miss the dance   
  
Yes my life is better left to chance   
  
I could have missed the pain but I'd of had to miss the dance 


	7. Chapter 7

Notes: o.o I haven't been online in about three weeks and I'm hoping Bluum didn't have a chapter she wanted me to look at because I wont be online until I'm better. It's not just a cold now. Both of my ears are infected as well as my sinuses. X.x Of course, by the time you guys read this, I'll be better. o.o Sorry if you guys were really waiting for the next chapters for this, HoW and OE. But hey! Now you have -lot- to read! If you haven't read everything else already o.o Yeah. On with the chapter...After my next comment(s). Okay. I don't really know how long it take to get from Japan to Washington across the Pacific Ocean but I figure about 3 or 4 hours. Because it takes a plane three or four hours to get from Washington to Florida, I don't think it'll take longer for them to get from Japan to Washington. *Shrugs* :) Oh, yeah. You get to see some of Kai's writing in this chapter. I'm not sure about Rei's, but possibly when they're on the plane. ^.^ Uhm...I haven't decided what Kai's writing will be about but I'll probably use one of the ideas that I rejected for my own stories. O.o Probably one of the ones that I started writing and never finished. In fact...I have one that might work...With a bit of editing, of course. ^.^ This is going to be -so- much fun. I hope you'll all enjoy it as well. ^.^ Read on and sorry that I've been gone for so long. O.o Hopefully you guys have been updating while I've been sick. *Nudges Dev and Bluum*  
  
Dranzer  
  
7  
  
Kayla and Kin enthusiastically greeted Kai and Rei when they entered the house. Rei was promptly shoved against the wall by Kin's big paws on his shoulders while Kayla did her best to eat Kai's scarf.  
  
"Hey, would you two calm down?" Kai said, lifting Kayla off of the ground and dumping her on the couch. She started barking at him, her tail wagging furiously. "Kin, come on. Leave Rei alone." Kai found the spot behind Kin's ribs and prepared to scratch it. Kin yelped before he even started and ran out of the room.   
  
"Is it always that easy?" Rei asked, raising an eyebrow as Kin's black tail disappeared around the corner into the hall.  
  
"Yes." Kai responded smaller. "With him at least. Kayla's not ticklish." Kai looked over at Kayla and she started to bark again. "Oh, hush."   
  
"I'm thinking that it's a good thing that I'm not ticklish..." Rei said.  
  
Kai looked over at him and smiled. "Not ticklish? Don't be so sure. It took me two years to find the right spot to tickle Kin but I found it. Kayla? She either isn't ticklish or she ignores it. Salem's paw pads are ticklish. Mouse's are too and so is the spot between his shoulders." Kai told Rei.  
  
"Are you telling me that you make a point of finding out where your pets are ticklish?" Rei asked.  
  
"Do I have to answer that?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Okay. I'll answer that. Yes."  
  
"Let me rephrase that. Do you make is a point to find out where everyone is ticklish?" Rei tried.  
  
"Uhm...Only family?"  
  
"You're scaring me, Kai."  
  
"Okay. Just my pets so I can get them back for things. Since they're too smart for their own good."  
  
"Just your pets?"  
  
"Just my pets...And, maybe you." Kai added.   
  
"I'm not ticklish!"  
  
"Like I said before: Don't be so sure." Kai said before disappearing down the hall.  
  
"Are you trying to tell me that you plan on finding some place where -I'm- ticklish?" Rei called.  
  
"Maybe." Kai responded, returning from wherever he'd gone to. "Or maybe I already have an idea." Kai said, motioning to Kayla. She obediently got off of the couch and went to the door. Kin returned from the hall as well, carrying his and Kayla's leashes. "Thanks, Kin." Kai said, taking the leashes.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Rei asked as they left the house.  
  
"Exactly what I said."  
  
"So you think you know where I'm ticklish?" Rei challenged.   
  
"Yes."  
  
"Prove it." Rei said.  
  
Kai looked at him. "Not until I have a valid reason to." Kai answered, smiling.   
  
"You don't know. No one knows where I'm ticklish."  
  
"You said you weren't ticklish, Rei."  
  
"Yes, well...I wish I wasn't." Rei answered as he followed Kin and Kayla into the Mustang. Kai started the car as Rei got Salem and Mouse out of the back seat.  
  
"I'm sure you do."  
  
"Where do you think I'm ticklish?" Rei asked as they started towards Dranzer.  
  
"Same place as Mouse. Well, not the paw pads. I'm hoping you don't -have- paw pads."  
  
"Ha-ha."  
  
"Anyway, when Tyson prodded you between the shoulders the other day to get your attention, you shivered." Kai told him.  
  
"You noticed?"  
  
"No comment."  
  
"Technically, that was."  
  
"Actually, technically, it wasn't. A comment is a remark or observation made in criticism or as an expression of opinion." Kai answered.  
  
"Please don't tell me you read the dictionary." Rei said, shaking his head.  
  
Kai laughed. "No, no. But I have lived around Kenny since I was young." Kai reminded him.  
  
"Ah, yes. That would do it."   
  
Rei watched as Kai backed out of Dranzer's doors and heard him yell something to Kenny about not letter Tyson feed the cats or dogs. When Kai returned to the car, he looked over at Rei. "I have no idea where you live." He told Rei.  
  
"Oh, dear. Neither do I!" Rei said.  
  
"Then we're in trouble, aren't we? Looks like we'll have to stay here." Kai sighed before starting the car again. "So. Where to?"  
  
"The apartments on the east end of the park." Rei responded.  
  
"You really don't live that far from me, do you?" Kai asked as they pulled out into the street.  
  
"Not really. I realized on my walk the other day that I passed by your house on walks a lot before I met you." Rei said. "But I never saw you there."  
  
"I never really am. I usually don't leave them there either. Not unless we're really busy." Kai said, speaking of Kayla, Kin, Salem, and Mouse.  
  
Once they reached the apartments, Rei led Kai up the stairs to his apartment door. The woman who lived across from Rei opened her door when she heard Rei say something to Kai. "Oh, Rei. I'm glad you're back. I wanted to ask you something. Are you in a hurry?"  
  
Rei glanced at Kai who looked at his watch. "It's only five." Kai told Rei.  
  
"Well, we have a few minutes then. Is something wrong?" Rei asked.  
  
"Not really, I don't think. I was just wondering if you had a cat." The lady asked him. Rei tilted his head a bit.  
  
"No, I don't. Why?"  
  
"There was a grey cat sitting outside your door this afternoon. It was scratching at your door and meowing. I have him in here but I can't keep him. Lena's allergic." The woman said.   
  
"Lena...?" Rei wasn't sure if he remembered who Lena was.  
  
"My lovely young daughter. You went to school with her, remember?"  
  
"Uhm...Yes...I think so." Rei nodded a bit.  
  
"Oh! Look! There she is now. You know...You two haven't talked in such a long time. Didn't you used to date her?"  
  
Rei looked totally lost. "No..." He answered, glancing at the woman coming up the stairs. He recognized her face now. "Uhm...Hi."  
  
"Hello, Rei. It's been a long time since we've talked. How have you been?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"That's good to hear. I'm doing okay, too. My boyfriend just dumped me but that's okay. Hey. How about you and I go out for a little date. It'll be nice. We can have dinner." Lena said, smiling sweetly.  
  
Rei looked at Kai, irritated. "I'm sorry Lena, but I can't. I'm leaving for a while and I need to go get packed. It was nice talking to you." Rei turned, opened his door, and stepped in. Kai followed and shut the door.  
  
"Yeah. Nice talking to you! Not." Rei muttered.  
  
"One reason I hate women." Kai said.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"They leave one guy and move on to another an hour later. Like the first didn't matter at all." Kai said, shaking his head.  
  
"Yes, well. That's women for you. Mind giving me a hand. We just wasted a ton of time and we should get going soon." Rei went to his room and tugged a traveling bag out of his closet.  
  
"We're lucky the airport is close." Kai commented, opening the bag as Rei handed him a pile of close. He tucked them into a corner of the back and waited for Rei to find whatever else he needed.  
  
"Yeah. Otherwise we'd have wasted -all- of our time talking to them. And it's not just that fact they they're 100% women that bugs me. It's the fact that Lena thinks she can have anyone. She always was that way." Rei said as the finished packing his bag. "Let's get out of here. I need to tell her to take the cat to the shelter before we go though." Rei said, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "By the way," Rei said when they left the apartment. "Was someone else going to go with you originally?"  
  
"Yeah. Kenny was going to go but Dranzer's been too busy. We couldn't close it down for the week so he couldn't come. I'm glad though. I'd much rather have you with me. Partly because Kenny is either silent and typing away or talking about something I don't understand."  
  
"Yeah. I'd find that irritating." Rei agreed before knocking on Lena's mom's door.  
  
The door opened and the woman beamed at Rei. "Oh, Rei! Have you changed your mind?"  
  
"No. I was just going to ask you to take the cat you found to the shelter. We'll take care of it there." Rei said.  
  
"Oh...Okay. But Lena's willing to go out with you if you change your mind!" The woman called as Rei and Kai hurried down the steps.  
  
Rei wondered what Kai was writing. They been on the plane for an hour and neither was really feeling well enough to talk. Rei had never liked planes so it made him slightly sick to be on one now...flying over the ocean. Kai had already been a bit ill in the first place and the plane wasn't doing him any good. So they'd silently agreed not to talk and Rei chose to try and doze off. Which had worked for about a half an hour but he'd woken up when someone's baby started to cry.  
  
Kai paused, lifting his pen to read before adding another comment off to the side of the typed page. "What're you doing, Kai?" Rei asked.  
  
Kai looked up from his work and smiled. "The baby wake you up?"   
  
Rei sighed. "Yeah."  
  
"I'm editing my story. Kenny wanted to edit it but I figured I might need something to do while I'm on the plane." Kai answered.  
  
"What's it about? If you don't mind me asking..."  
  
"Not at all. But I don't really remember much. I wrote it a few years ago. My sister thought of it but didn't want to write it herself. So she had me write it." Kai shook his head. "Even as I read it I don't remember what it's about." Kai shrugged. "You can read it if you want. The damn thing's giving me a headache." Kai said, holding the story out to Rei.  
  
"Okay." Rei took the papers.  
  
"You can continue correcting it if you want. Or comment. Doesn't matter to me." Kai leaned back and closed his eyes.   
  
"Mmm." Was Rei's only response. He tugged the pen out of Kai's hand and replaced it with his hand before starting to read.  
  
"You're going to get yourself drowned, girl!" A large man towered over a girl at the age of ten. "Give us the crystal now, damnit." The man ordered, brown eyes gleaming. The girl scowled.   
  
"I will not." She snapped. "You can not take it from me and you can not make me give it to you!" She hissed, side stepping to try and make a move away from the river. Another man pushed her back into place. The crystal they wanted was from a gift her best friend have given her, and she'd die before letting them take it. Even then she wouldn't give it easy.   
  
"That's it then!" The man clenched a fist and drove it hard in to the girls stomach. The young girl fell back and in to the deep stream, sinking in. One hand clenched her stomach while the other had the crystal in a death grip. Recovering from shock, she kicked to the surface, gasping when she met the air. The man who had punched her pushed her under with his foot. She opened her eyes under water and swam away. After a few feet she took air from the surface and dove the bottom of the river. But she wasn't alone when she got there.  
  
Off to the side of the last piece, Kai had written something in red pen. I think it's a good thing that this story wasn't my idea. It's awful. Rei smiled. He wouldn't say it was -awful-. For being written a few years back and with it not being his idea, it wasn't all that bad. Rei wondered if Kai's sister hadn't stood over him and made suggestions through the whole thing to get it how she wanted it. After glancing over at the sleeping Kai, Rei continued to read.  
  
Two glowing, ice blue eyes watched her, each eye half the size of the girl herself. She swallowed hard, praying that it wouldn't be angry. To her surprise, it moved forward and took her onto it's muzzle, lifting her to the surface, her head the only part actually above the surface. The men ran over. One man lifted his foot into the air, preparing to dig his heal in to her head. But, before he could move it towards her, he was wrapped in the creature's scaled tail. The thing that was holding her was some type of lizard or something! She yelped when the creature rose out of the water on it's hind legs. Then she gasped, choking on the air. A -dragon-?  
  
"What the hell?!" The man that had punched her growled. "Is that...?!" He stared at the creature in shock.. The dragon reared it's head, tossing the girl towards the group of men. One of the men, though not exactly a man, caught the girl, eyes wide in confusion.   
  
"Let me go, jerk!" The boy, exactly eleven, today being his birthday, narrowed his eyes. He let go of her , letting her fall to the ground.   
  
"Fine then." He snapped, turning on his heel and walking towards his father. "Got her." He said, before walking past him. His father looked back at him then at the girl.   
  
"Very good..." The boy's father strode over and picked the girl up by her shirt collar. "Looks like my son is getting used to this job. What's your name?" He asked her, trying to sound patient and kind.   
  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She snapped. He narrowed his eyes.   
  
"Tell me." He growled.   
  
"Sara." She replied. He smiled.   
  
"Scared?" He asked, laughing. She rolled her eyes.   
  
"Shintall!" He called. His son looked up and frowned.   
  
"What?" He replied, sliding off the rock he was perched on.   
  
"Take this girl to your house." He ordered. Shintall spat on the ground angrily and went to his father, who let go of 'Sara' and strode away.   
  
"Come on. And don't cause any trouble or try and run off until we get out of sight. Dad will kill me....literally.." He moved away and headed towards the forest. 'Sara' followed.   
  
Rei once again red the comment that Kai wrote in red pen. If the dragon is supposed to be good, why the hell would he throw her? Okay. So Rei knew the dragon wasn't bad. Which was a change from what one would normally read.   
  
The two entered a forest clearing with a small house in the center. Shintall turned to face 'Sara.' "What's your name?" He asked her, not looking quite at her but past her.   
  
"Intiar." She told him, this time not using her fake name. Shintall nodded.   
  
"Go ahead." He told her, turning to go in to his house.   
  
"No." He stopped and turned to face her once again.   
  
"What?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.   
  
"I don't want to go." She told him, frowning. "Do you want me to go?"  
  
He didn't reply for a moment. "N-well, not really. I figured you would want to go..." Shintall murmured. Intiar shook her head. Shintall swallowed. "Really?" Intiar nodded.   
  
"I have no where to go. So I..." She stopped. Shintall was glaring at something over her shoulder. Intiar turned around and looked. A boy who stood there, leaning on a tree.   
  
"Couger...again...get away from me.." Shintall hissed. Couger grinned.   
  
"Got a girlfriend for your birthday?" He asked. Shintall lunged past Intiar, slamming in to Couger. Couger grunted, and tried to shove Shintall away. But Couger was pinned against the tree, and Shintall was holding something to his neck. A knife. Couger swallowed, eyes wide.   
  
"I told you to stay away from me." With that, he cut Couger's neck, about 3 millimeters in. Shintall slid the knife in to it's sheath on his side. "Go." He ordered. Couger clutched his throat and shot out of the clearing.   
  
"What the?" Intiar questioned. He shook his head. His eyes were pure black and he headed towards his house. "What the heck did you do that for?!" She called, following him inside. "He's an old enemy. And he's probably going to go back and get me in trouble. Besides. He likes you." Intiar stopped and stared at him.   
  
"What?" Shintall shrugged.   
  
"He followed because he wanted to see what I would do with you. If you would have left, he would have caught you and taken you to his house. And...well, never mind." He told her, sitting down on an old chair in a corner.   
  
"No. What would he do? Why did you stop him?" She asked, advancing on him.   
  
"Nothing! Forget it!" He snapped, standing up again.   
  
"Just tell me and I will!" She countered.  
  
"No!" She stood in front of him, glaring up at him.   
  
"Tell me now, or I'll go see for myself!" She hissed.  
  
His eyes flashed angrily. "No. You don't want to go." He moved around her to stand before the door.   
  
Another comment was written off to the side. I forgot to mention that the house has no windows.  
  
She narrowed her eyes. "Just tell me!" She replied, fists clenched.   
  
"He is old enough to take you into his house to live and all. So, take that as a clue!" He spat. She sat down in the chair behind her.   
  
"Oh." That was all she said as she watched him leave the house, slamming the door behind him. A dozen pairs of red eyes appeared around her and she leapt to her feet. Realizing that it was pitch black, she looked around. She was surrounded by an enemy. This she knew. But what were they? 'Oh..boy...' Surrounded by spirits... Intiar called him back. Shintall whirled around to stare at the house.   
  
"Oops....forgot about them..." He went back to the house and slid in, not allowing any light in to the house. The spirits all at once began to chatter.   
  
'Who's the newcomer, Shintall?'  
  
'Why is she here?'  
  
'Why did she yell?'  
  
'Is she light?'  
  
'How old is she?'  
  
'What's her name?'  
  
'Can she talk?'  
  
'Did she meet Couger?'  
  
'She's ugly!'  
  
'She's not ugly! She's pretty!'  
  
'What?'  
  
'Huh?'  
  
Rei paused in reading to write something on the left margin of the paper. I have a feeling 'Couger' isn't said as 'cougar'. Rei wrote before continuing.  
  
"SHUT UP!" Shintall yelled. They did, and Intiar bolted to his side. He moved away, glaring at her.   
  
"You're a light!" He hissed, watching her angrily.   
  
"So! You're a dark!" She countered, leaning against the door. He scowled.  
  
"This is also my house. So why would it matter if I am dark or not?" He replied. She frowned.   
  
"Why'd you bring me here then?" She asked.   
  
"Why'd you come?" He questioned. He was starting to get on her nerves.   
  
"Fine, I'll leave then!" She cried, bolting out of the door. Shintall glared after her, standing at the door, watching her go. She shot into the forest, preparing to jump up onto a tree. Something grabbed her elbow and she whirled around, knocking it to the ground. She looked down to see it was Couger. He leapt to his feet, grinning.   
  
"Smooth move. You made him mad. He'll probably be after you now." Couger commented. She nodded.   
  
"Yeah. I should get somewhere to keep safe. But no one will take me around here." She explained. He smiled.   
  
"I wouldn't mind taking you to my house to stay, if you would like." Intiar smiled.   
  
"Sure. That would work." He nodded and led her out of the forest where is house stood. He led her in and showed her where she would sleep. She wondered why there were so many rooms if there was only him to use them. She shrugged it off and entered her room. She might as well sleep now. She doubted she'd be able to sleep tomorrow if Shintall found out where she was.  
  
The pilot's voice filled the plane to announce that they had about twenty minutes before their plane landed. Sighing, Rei put the pages back in order and capped the pen before looking over at Kai. The pilot's voice seemed to have awoken him and he was staring down as the ground now.   
  
"I hate flying over water." Kai said.  
  
"Me too. And I'm glad that -you- got the window seat." Rei added.  
  
"Gee, thanks." Kai replied, looking over at him. Rei smiled an shifted his hand in Kai's in order to see Kai's watched.   
  
"Looks like we're ahead of schedule." Rei said.  
  
"Yeah. There is a good side to flying over sea I guess. No stops at other airports."   
  
"That's true. But, stop or no stops, I'll always hate flying. I'm a ground person." Rei said.  
  
"Really? I usually enjoy it. When I'm not ill or flying over water." Kai shrugged.  
  
"You know what's sad?" Rei asked.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"I was actually getting in to this." Rei said, lifting the story from his lap.  
  
Kai laughed. "Yeah, that is sad. Is there even a plot to it?" Kai asked.  
  
"I don't know. I was busy re-reading the first few pages the whole time.  
  
"Me too. I've been reading the first few pages for the last few days. Editing and trying to guess what the beginning of the story has to do with the rest of it. I don't think I ever finished the story either."  
  
"Hey. Here's an idea: Why don't we read the rest of it tonight and we can try and think up an ending for it." Rei suggested.  
  
"Sounds good to me. Dane shouldn't be home until tomorrow night and she had Hikiuma with her. The dogs too. So we might be a bit bored." Kai said.  
  
"Okay."  
  
  
  
o.o Yeah. I edited the beginning of the story a bit because it sounded horrid...But I actually wrote that with Bri. The person I named Rei's 'friend' after. We wrote it a few years ago. She typed everything Intiar said and I think I did Shintall, Couger, and the other guys. O.o That wasn't the whole story, either. I will give you the rest of what we wrote. When they get to the house...mansion...thing. Yeah. o.o Thanks for reading and please review.  
  
Intiar (In-tee-air) o.o I read that as 'in the air'  
  
Shintall (Shin-tall) simple enough  
  
Couger (Koh-jer) Rei was right. It's -not- said like cougar. ^.^ 


	8. Chapter 8

Notes: O.o Woo. I had the sudden urge to read Digimon fanfics yesterday so that took up all my time. Well, I was reading someone's Beyblade fanfic but I lost all my windows and I didn't feel like trying to find where I left off and all. ;.; So I just read a KenxDavis fic that I found. It was pretty good up until the last chapter when my mom told me to get off the computer ;.; so I didn't get to finish it either. Grr. Well, anyway. As I'm typing this I don't know what chapter of what fic I was going to type up...I FINALLY saved the reviews for WoD but I'm not in the mood to type on that. I want to finish Kai's old story thing. Hmm...Well. Okay. Here's Chapter 8 of Dranzer. Sorry. ;.;  
  
Dranzer  
  
8  
  
Rei should have known better than to think it would be a small house. She kept a -horse- here. But that didn't mean the house had to be -this- big. "Okay. Before you ask. Yes, we have a fairly rich family." Kai said, looking over at Rei.   
  
"Fairly?"  
  
"Shut up." Kai muttered, grabbing Rei's free hand and pulling him to the front door. "Let's just forget it, okay?" Kai said, knocking on one of the double doors. It was answered after a moment's pause.   
  
"Ah, Master Kai. Lady Dane said you would be coming. Please, come in." The servant that had answered the door stepped aside, holding the door for the two as they entered. "I am James. Lady Dane has asked me to show you the room she had built recently. She says you will like it." The man said. "Shall I show you?"  
  
"Please do." Kai smiled, nodding. "And please don't call me 'master'. Just call me Kai. And this is Rei." Kai said, indicating his companion with a nod of his head.  
  
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Rei. Will you be staying with Kai in his rooms or shall I find you your own?" James asked.  
  
Kai and Rei exchanged glances and Kai lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. "Uhm...His will be fine." Rei responded.  
  
James nodded. "Very well. Less work for me. Follow me." James turned and went up the steps behind him. Kai released Rei's hand and followed James up the steps. Rei, taking one last look around the entry, hurried to follow them.  
  
The first thing that you saw upon entering was the phoenix painting above the large, four-poster bed. In the picture, the phoenix's wings were circling the earth and the sun could be seen behind the phoenix in the darkness of the galaxy.  
  
"Lady Dane had the picture done for you a few years back but was never able to find a fitting frame for it. So, she had it set into the wall instead." James explained.   
  
"Wow..." Rei murmured, catching sight of the phoenix statue on the right of the window. Kai looked over and smiled.   
  
"I remember this." Kai said, approaching the statue of the phoenix sitting on a bird perch. It's long tails fell down behind it and curled around the base of the perch. It's head was slightly tilted to the side and the rubies it had for eyes caught the light from the sun, sending a red glow into the room.   
  
Kai turned from the phoenix and looked at James. "Tell me...Does she still have the tiger?" Kai asked him.  
  
"Ah, the tiger. Yes, she does. I believe it is in the storage room. Shall I find it?"  
  
"Please do." Kai answered, smiling. "I have yet to figure out what it's eyes are made of..." Kai said, looking around.  
  
"Lady Dane gave up trying to figure that out a long time ago." James said, smiling.  
  
"Yeah, I figured...You know...No one but my sister and I would ever tolerate black carpet." Kai commented, looking down at the newly put down black carpet.   
  
"I actually kind of like it. With the red walls and the red sheets on the bed, it doesn't look too bad." Rei said, looking around. His eyes landed on the painted closet door and they widened. "Did she do that?" Rei asked.  
  
Kai turned and smiled. "Yeah. Must be new though. Her style's changed." Kai commented, moving to stand beside Rei. The sliding closet doors were painted with a phoenix and a winged, white tiger. They looked to be fighting but Rei wasn't really sure.(A/N: Sick thoughts allowed here ^.- ) Both were in flight, facing each other. The tiger's wings were spread out, each wing tip touching an edge of the closet door while the phoenix's were arched partially circling the tiger. The tiger's left front paw was pressed against the phoenix's chest while the other was hooked over it's wing. It's teeth were bared and the phoenix's beak was open but still, Rei wasn't sure they were fighting. (A/N: I'm sure some of you catch what I mean by Rei not being sure they were really fighting :P I'm not going to elaborate on that.)  
  
"It is new. She didn't like the old door she was going to put in so she re-did it." James explained.  
  
"She has too much time on her hands." Kai said, shaking his head. "And no, Rei, they aren't fighting." Kai told Rei, smirking. "Yeah, I know what you're thinking." Kai turned to James. "Is there wood for a fire? The sky wasn't looking happy when we got here and the house will be freezing if it starts to rain." Kai said.  
  
"Ah, yes. We have plenty of wood. Shall I start the fire for you?" James asked.  
  
"That'd be great. Rei's got to unpack." Kai said.  
  
"Alright. I will have the fire ready. When would you like your dinner?" James asked.  
  
"Rei?"   
  
"Hmm?" Rei turned away from examining the closet.  
  
"Are you hungry?" Kai asked.  
  
"Not really. Plane food makes me sick." Rei answered.  
  
"Hai. Same. I don't think we'll be eating tonight, James. Thank you for showing us the rooms." Kai said. Kai and James shook hands and James left, closing the door behind him.  
  
"There's more than one room?" Rei asked, looking at Kai.  
  
"Yeah. There are usually four. The bedroom, the bathroom, the sitting room and the porch." Kai explained.  
  
"The porch is a room?" Rei asked.  
  
"It's surrounded by glass panels which serve as the walls and ceiling so it's considered a room." Kai told him, smiling.  
  
"I hate rich people." Rei sighed. "No offense." Rei added.  
  
"None taken. Let's get everything unpacked so we can go downstairs and finish the story." Kai said.  
  
"'Kay."   
  
While Rei opened the traveling bag, Kai found an empty drawer for him and turned to help him unpack.  
  
"Maybe, if we finish Shintall quickly, we can read one of mine." Rei said thoughtfully.  
  
"Then let's finish it quickly. I'd much rather be reading something of yours than that." Kai said.  
  
"Yeah, me too. Or maybe something else of yours rather than Shintall." Rei said, smiling as they quickly finished and Kai put the bag in the closet and went to close the blinds. Rei found himself looking at the closet painting again. "Okay. If they aren't fighting...are they doing what I think they're doing?"  
  
Kai wrapped his arms around Rei's waist from behind and rested his chin on Rei's shoulder. "What do you think they're doing?" Kai asked, smirking.  
  
Rei smiled. "Yeah. Nevermind."   
  
"Yes, that was what Dane intended it to be." Kai said, knowing exactly what Rei thought.   
  
"And why?"  
  
"I'm not sure. She says the phoenix has always represented me but she hasn't figured out why she likes putting it with a tiger yet." Kai said, looking thoughtful now. "You know, Rei...This is giving me a headache. Let's go downstairs." Kai suggested.  
  
"Sure thing." Rei answered, smiling and kissing Kai's cheek. "Let's get Shintall out of the way. It might give you a bigger headache."  
  
"Damn."  
  
o.o Uhm. Yeah. Okay. *Looks around* I hope you all got what the phoenix and tiger are doing and I KNOW you all understand that the tiger is Rei. You better. Oh, whoa. Ew. O.o Yeah. Uhm...Ew. o.o *Thinks* Oh, right. I remember someone saying that Kai and Rei are awfully stereotypical. XD I know they are. I hope no one was taking that the wrong way. o.o It would be kind of weird if I was trying to insult women if I am one. *Thinks again* Aw...man. That sucks. My plan wont work. ;.; Damnit. *Mutters* Well, that sucks. I was planning on...yeah. I can't tell you. :) I can still do part of it but not the whole idea. *Sigh* Damn. Oh, well. Dranzer will have to live without. :) *Beams* Well, okay. I'll tell you this. I had an idea for combining OE and Dranzer at the end of them but I realize now that it wont work. Part of it will work but it only works for OE ^.^ Yeah. Anyway. Thanks for reading and please review! Later! 


	9. Dranzer 9

Notes: :) This chapter of Dranzer is brought to you by the Frustration Reliever Corporation.   
  
Dranzer  
  
9  
  
Kai sat down on the couch nearest the fire and tucked his right foot under his left leg as he settled into the corner of the couch. Rei joined him, yawning slightly. Once Rei had settled in next to Kai, with his head resting on Kai's shoulder and his feet up on the couch, Kai started to read where Rei had left off on the story. (A/N: Wow. That paragraph sucked o.o)  
  
Intiar woke up to voices in the kitchen. She sighed and got out of bed as she listened to the voices. 'Ok. So it's not just Shintall. His father is there too.' She smiled. 'Good. If I go out, then Shintall will be in trouble with his father.' She opened the door and slipped in to the kitchen.   
  
Shintall looked up, eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?" He hissed.   
  
She shrugged. "Living?" He rolled his eyes.   
  
"Whatever." Shintall's father glanced at her but returned to whispering with Couger. Couger looked up and smiled.   
  
"Morning." He said, turning back to Shintall's father. Shintall turned on his heel and exited the house. Intiar followed.   
  
"Mad yet?" She asked.   
  
He whirled around to glare at her. She had shut the door behind her to make sure the two inside didn't hear them.   
  
"Why do you ask?" He replied.   
  
"Oh, guess I was hoping you would be mad." She answered.   
  
He laughed sourly. "Yeah. Sure. More you were hoping I'd be furious. Well, I'm not either. Actually, I'm quite pleased. I don't have to deal with you. Now my father is handing over my control over you to Couger. And he's going to turn you to the dark side." He countered.   
  
She grinned. "Fine, I think I might enjoy that." She said, raising her eyebrows.  
  
He rolled his eyes again and turned to the forest, making his way to it. "Whatever." He said again, disappearing in to the forest. 'Shoot. That's just wonderful. She actually thinks she'll like it. And then our little friend, Couger will take her in to live with him like father did to mother.' He thought to himself, kicking at a large rock and shattering it.  
  
"At least you wrote okay." Rei commented when Kai paused.  
  
"What do you mean?" Kai asked.  
  
"I like your vocabulary, I guess. Do you still write that way?"  
  
"Not really. I think my way have writing has gotten worse while my ideas have become much better. A trade-off, I suppose. I've been working on trying to recover my old way though."  
  
"I'm the same way. Read on?'  
  
Kai nodded, resting his cheek against Rei's head.  
  
'Oh great. I'm in trouble...if Shintall wasn't trying to anger me, then Couger is probably going to be the one to change me to dark.' Intiar thought, wandering up the steps in to her room. 'This is bad.'  
  
"Intiar?" Couger called from the steps. She stood up and opened her door. "Yes?" She called back. "You mind coming with me somewhere?" He asked. She thought for a moment. "Sure." She replied, going down the steps. He smiled and led her out the door.  
  
They reached a dark clearing in the forest and he sat her down on a boulder and leaned against a tree, waiting quietly. "It shouldn't take long..." He whispered.   
  
"Umm...what shouldn't take long?" She asked.   
  
He smiled. "I'm waiting for a friend. He's going to help us with something." He replied. "Help us with what?" She questioned  
  
He looked over at her, eyes narrowed. "Since when did Shintall keep my secrets anyhow?" He asked, shifting his weight.   
  
"Don't ask me. I've hardly known him for a day." She answered.   
  
He rolled his eyes. "I guess he forgot, considering he's a brainless dolt." He replied.   
  
"Oh well, must not be that important then." She said, swinging her feet back and forth. He shook his head. "It is." He said, sighing.   
  
"What is it then?" She asked again. He looked at her. "If he didn't tell you I'm not going to talk about it. I figured he would have told you when you two went outside yesterday." He told her.   
  
"Fine then, you don't have to talk about it I guess..." She replied.   
  
He smiled. "Good." To Intiar, it seemed he was more of the 'good guy' than Shintall was. "Are you sure he didn't say anything to you? I heard you two talking, but I couldn't understand anything. What were you talking about?" He questioned.   
  
"Let me think...well, he did say something about you being old enough to take me in and everything, but then again...he's old enough too." She replied.   
  
He scowled. "Yeah. But he wouldn't take..." He didn't finish.  
  
"It would seem that Couger had a major personality change." Rei said, smiling.  
  
"Yeah. I found myself disliking Shintall. It wont last though." Kai responded.  
  
"Darn. Couger reminded me of you for a moment there."  
  
"That's not a happy thought." Kai said, smiling. "Couger's stupid."  
  
"Yes, well. So are you. Keep reading." Rei grinned.  
  
"Yessir."  
  
  
  
"Forget that, what else did he say?" He asked.   
  
"When I followed him outside of your house he did say you were going to turn me dark..." She said.   
  
"And you said?" He asked.   
  
"I said I think I might enjoy it." She answered.  
  
He frowned. "Even if that was the truth, about you maybe enjoying it, your friends, light friends are arguing with my dark side about you." He replied. "Tell me. Do you really think you want to be dark?" He asked.   
  
"I don't know, I didn't even really have any friends except for the one that died." She whispered.   
  
"No. The light side may not be your actual friends, but they don't want you to come to the dark side. I do, because... well yeah. But Shintall disagrees. He thinks you should stay with the lights. Who knows why. I think I do, but anyway..." he said.   
  
"Well that's Shintall's own problem. Besides, I didn't have anything to do being on the light side. I can go be both sides if I try really, really hard."   
  
He glared at her. "That could kill you. Besides, you would have even less to do on the dark side if you became...I didn't say that..." He growled, standing straight as a dark form slid in to the clearing.   
  
"Couger, are you two ready?" The form hissed. Intiar realized it was a spirit. A wolf spirit. In fact...a very large wolf spirit. Large as in height. Intiar reached to touch it, her hand sliding through his body. She jerked her hand back. The air around him was cold, like ice. She swallowed. The wolf turned his head to look at her. "Get used to it." He snapped.   
  
She nodded. "Yeah Lenua." Couger said, stepping forward. Lenua stood in front of Intiar and grinned. Black mists curled around the spirit, extending to engulf Intiar. Something cut through the mist, striking Couger in the stomach. Couger stumbled and fell back against the tree. The spirit turned to face his opponent. The dragon, which had earlier saved Intiar from drowning in the river, stood in the shadows, eyes glowing. Shintall was standing next to her.  
  
By now, Rei had fallen asleep and Kai gladly set the story aside, wrapping an arm around Rei's waist and pulling him closer without waking him up. It didn't take him long to fall asleep as well.  
  
Kai's eyes opened at the sound of the front entry door opening. Voices followed the sound of the door opening and closing, causing Kai to wonder how long he'd slept. Beside him, Rei was already wake and was stretching against Kai's side. "I'm guessing it's morning." Kai said.  
  
"I believe it is." Rei agreed, yawning. "And I think she's here."  
  
"Hai. Me, too. Come on. Let's go change." Kai said. Rei stood up and Kai followed. "Remind me never to sleep like that again." Kai commented, rubbing his foot.  
  
"Asleep?"  
  
"Yeah." Kai said. After a moment, he was able to walk properly and the two hurried up the stairs and into Kai's rooms.  
  
"So, sleep well?" Rei asked.  
  
"Too well, it would seem. You?"  
  
"Very well."  
  
"How much of the story did you actually hear?"  
  
"I think I fell asleep just before you stopped. I vaguely remember hearing you put the story aside." Rei responded, finding a fresh pair of a clothes and disappearing into the bathroom. Neither of them had been near a bathroom since they'd boarded the plane the day before.  
  
Once they'd changed, the two made their way downstairs where Kai was attacked by a little girl who chose to attach herself to Kai's leg. "Hey there, Kate." Kai greeted, looking down at her. "I'm assuming your father is here..."  
  
"No way. I sent her off on her own." Came someone's response. Kai and Rei looked up to find Dane and another.  
  
"Hey, Tala. Finally spending time with the family?" Kai asked.  
  
"You can't say that I don't spend time with the family on a daily basis. Kate's always with me." The man beside Dane responded. "How've you been?"  
  
"Not bad, actually. You?"  
  
"Great. Up until Dane decided to track me down."  
  
"Hey! You said you wanted to come see the house some time." Dane replied, glaring at her other brother.  
  
"That's true." Tala admitted, shrugging a shoulder. "And I guess I don't mind. Kate's been asking to see 'Uncle Birdie' for months."  
  
Kai raised an eyebrow. "That's a new one." He said, looking down at Kate. Rei looked at her as well and he got the feeling that she was adopted. She looked nothing like any of the three siblings with her black hair and brown eyes.  
  
"Uncle Birdie fun. Uncle Birdie wanna see everyone?" Kate asked, staring up at Kai.  
  
Kai looked at Dane. "Hikiuma?"  
  
Dane smiled sadly. "I don't know if she's going to live, Kai. She's hardly able to stand and she's not eating much." Dane motioned for them to follow her and Tala moved forward, picking up Kate and walking beside Kai as he and Rei followed Dane out to the stables behind the house.  
  
A bit short, I know. ;.; Sorry. But I want to get to the library and post IB Ch 13 and this ^.- So, yeah. Dane, Tala, and Kai are siblings. Kate is Tala's adopted daughter(he's not married) o.o Uhm...Not sure what else I was going to say. Thanks for reading and please review! Later! 


	10. Chapter 10

Notes: Have any of you ever taken a break from updating that lasted a couple months? I have. As you can see. And you know what? After updating Hesitating, I realized why I love writing fanfics in the first place. :) It just feels GOOD. I've always loved writing and I've been trying to work on my stories more lately. But, every time I start to write, I remember that I haven't updated in AGES. :) And I love updating. I love getting reviews too.... Anyway...Re-reading chapter 9 of Dranzer before I type this chapter... o.o Eep. Kai says 'yessir' to Rei in this and Tala says 'yessir' to Rei in Hesitating...Hehe...  
  
Dev- In response to your review on my little commentry: .- Glad you liked it. Thought it might be fun so I went for it. :P And, yeah, didn't need to know that XD Thanks for the review!  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Kai sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh. Having discussed Hikiuma's health with Dane and Tala, they'd come to the decision that she'd have to be put to sleep. "Dane calling the vet?" Kai asked Tala as his brother sat down in an armchair near the fire.  
  
"Yeah...You know, Kai...I think Hikiuma knows she's going. She was being more loving than usual...She never seemed to like me before today." Tala commented, looking over at Kai as Rei sat down beside him.  
  
"She never hated you, I don't think. Remember, she pretended to hate Misfit for the longest time. Look what came out of that..." Kai said, smiling a bit. "Wings looks a lot like her mother, too. Besides the fact that she has Misfit's eyes..."  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"The vet will be here in a half an hour." Dane announced softly as she stepped into the room with Kate. The little girl, seeming to know Kai was feeling the worst, ran to him and crawled into his lap to cuddle.  
  
"That's a good thing, I guess..." Kai murmured, running a hand through Kate's hair.  
  
"I think it is." Dane said, sitting down in the other armchair that was across from Tala's. "So...Shall we catch up? Talking about Hiki is a bit depressing, you know?"  
  
"Yeah...Well...Kai? What've you been up to?" Tala asked, trying not to sound too down.  
  
"Not much, actually. Dranzer hasn't changed any so my life hasn't much, either...Well, for the most part." Kai added, smiling at Rei. "Yeah. This is Rei. Late introduction, but whatever." Kai shrugged.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Rei." Dane said, smiling at him. Rei smiled back as Kate climbed into his lap to examine his bangs.  
  
"Hey." Was Tala's simple greeting, accompanied with a smile.  
  
"Perty hair. Soft soft." Kate told Rei, tugging gently on his bangs. "I want."  
  
"I doubt Rei wants to part with his hair, honey." Kai told her, chuckling.  
  
"I want!" Kate repeated, reaching behind Rei and tugging his wrapped hair over his shoulder so she could play with it. "Peerrty. Wha's your name, mister?" Kate asked, watching him intently with her chocolate eyes.  
  
"My name is Rei." He responded, smiling.  
  
"I Kate." Kate said, nodding to herself before she began to play with Rei's hair. "Kate." She repeated absentmindedly.  
  
"She's adorable." Rei commented,grinning at Tala.  
  
"Isn't she?" He responded.  
  
"Hey, Tala, when are you and Bryan going to Russia?" Dane asked.  
  
"Eh. We don't know yet. He's been busy lately." Tala said, shrugging. "Why?"  
  
"I'd like to go up there. It's been awhile." Dane answered.  
  
"I think we're leaving in the next two weeks. You want to join us?"  
  
"May I?"  
  
"Sure. You should come, Kai." Tala said, looking over at him.   
  
Kai shook his head. "I think I'll have had enough of planes after the trip back. Besides, I don't think Kenny would appreciate me being away from Dranzer much longer..." Kai said, shrugging.  
  
"So...How long have you two known each other?" Dane asked, unable to hold back her curiousity. (A/N: For some reason...I don't think I spelt that right...)  
  
o.x Yeah. Pointless chapter. But oh-well o.x I think I'm going to use the idea a reviewer gave me...And, after that, one I've been playing with in my head for a few months .- Fun stuff. Well, anyway. Thanks for reading and please review! Later!   
  
You are who you are, and that's all right with me.   
  
I am who I am, and that's all right with me.  
  
-Trace Adkins  
  
Rough and Ready 


	11. Chapter 11

Notes: eep. o.x Two people have asked me when Rei and Kai got together. And, to tell you the truth, I don't know. I guess it was in the park...o.o I don't remember how my mind was working when I got to that point, so I don't know... Sorry!  
  
Okay. I'm annoyed. I was re-reading chapter 6 and I realized that I'd said Mussie was mustache in Swedish. I thought it was, my sister thought it was, and my mom thought it was...But my grandma says it's Mickey as in Mickey Mouse...Or maybe it was Mouse, as in Mickey Mouse. I dunno...But we all thought it was mustache..Whatever...  
  
Too lazy to answer reviews o.x Sorry. Thanks to all who reviewed, though .- Much appreciated.  
  
Chapter 11  
  
"Kai, I think the vet is here." Dane said, steeping into the room. She's left to take Kate to her room and now stood behind the couch, looking anious.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Kai nodded and stood, running a hand through his hair. "I hate this..." Kai muttered.  
  
"We all do...Are you going to explain it to her?" Tala asked, referring to Hikiuma.  
  
"Of course." Kai responded, heading for the front door as a soft knock reached his ears. Kai opened the door to find the vet standing there, looking rather upset himself.  
  
"Mr. Hiwatari...I am ready when you are. Shall we see her now?" The man asked.  
  
"Yes." Kai stepped past the man, leading him and the other three out to the stable where Hikiuma waited in her stall. When Kai entered the stall, the mare lifted her head from it's place on the ground and watched him approach. Kai sat down at her head, allowing her to lay it back down in his lap. "Hey, girl..." Kai whispered.   
  
Hikiuma snorted in response, watching Kai with one eye.   
  
"Listen, you know you're not going to be able to keep this up, Hiki..." Kai murmured, combing his fingers through her cropped mane. The mare made a motion with her head that Rei could have sworn was a nod. "So...We thought it best to put you to sleep...Stop it before it gets worse, you know?"  
  
The mare snorted again, making the nodding motion again. Kai took another deep breath and looked up at the vet. "In a moment." Kai said, managing a sort of smile before returning his gaze to Hikiuma's face. "Are you ready?" Kai asked. Hikiuma watched him for a moment before nodding. "Smart girl..." Kai said, smiling sadly. "I love you, Hiki." Kai kissed her nose, earning him self a lick on the chin for the action.  
  
As the vet approached, Hikiuma shifted to look at the wall seperating her stall and the next. "Wait." Kai said. "Tala, can you fetch Wings and the dogs?" Kai asked his brother.  
  
"Yeah." Tala left the stall, coming back a moment later with another mare that looked remarkably like Hikiuma. Behind the draft horse were two dogs that Rei figured must have been Khuss and Dale. The vet, Rei, and Dane all moved to the side so the mare could step in.  
  
Once the way was clear, Wings slowly moved forward to stand at her mother's side. Lowering his head, the young mare nudged her mother's cheek. Hikiuma returned the gesture, neighing softly. Rei was starting to think that none of these animals were your ordinary pet...  
  
Khuss and Dale went to her next, both covering her muzzle in licks before she managed to give them both a lick of her own. Reluctantly, the dogs left the stable after Wings, who paused at the door to look back at her mother and neigh a farewell before the left.  
  
"You...ready now?"  
  
Hikiuma nodded, giving Kai's chin another lick.  
  
"Okay...Uhm...Go ahead..." Kai said, without taking his eyes off of Hikiuma's face. The vet complied.  
  
"Kai?" The two had sat in silence on the plane for the first ten minutes and Rei was wondering if something was wrong. Besides the fact that Kai was still upset.  
  
Kai, taking his eyes away from the clouds outside and look at Rei. "Yes?"  
  
"Are you okay?" Rei asked, looking concerned.  
  
Kai smiled slightly. "I guess so, yeah. Just thinking. And not feeling much better than I did on the way there." Kai responded.  
  
"You think you're sick?"  
  
"Might be. Don't really know." Kai shrugged, absentmindedly tracing circles on the back of Rei's hand which sat on the arm rest between them.  
  
"Maybe you should stay home tomorrow. I'm sure Kenny wouldn't mind taking care of Dranzer for another day." Rei said, watching Kai's hand.  
  
"Probably..." Kai muttered, resting his head against the back of his seat and closing his eyes. "I guess a headache would be a bad sign, right?"  
  
"Yes. Do you have one?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You know...Why don't we just go see the doctor when we get back? You haven't been feeling well for the last few days and it doesn't seem to be getting any better." Rei suggested.  
  
"No."  
  
"As in "no it doesn't" or "no, we're not going to the doctor"?"  
  
"Both."  
  
"Kai."  
  
"Rei."  
  
"We're going to the doctor."  
  
"You can go to the doctor all you want. I'm not." Kai muttered, his eyes still closed.  
  
"Kai."  
  
"Rei?"  
  
"Yes you are."  
  
"No, I'm not!"  
  
"Kai."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Stop arguing with me." Rei said, watching the older man as he spoke.  
  
"There's no point in going to the doctor. All I need is sleep."  
  
"You've slept fine for the last few days but it hasn't done any good." Rei said. "Please. Can we just go see the doctor? Figure out if it's the flu or something?"   
  
Kai opened his eyes and looked over at Rei. "If it makes you happy." Kai responded, finally giving in.  
  
Rei smiled. "It would."  
  
"Fine." Kai sighed, closing his eyes again.  
  
"Well, Mr. Hiwatari, it does seem too bad. As long as you get a lot of rest and don't go out of the house much."  
  
Kai didn't respond, only shrugged and followed the doctor out. "Mr. Kon?"  
  
"Yes?" Rei answered, getting to his feet.   
  
"You ought to keep an eye on him. He appears to be the type that never follows the doctors orders." The doctor said, smiling before bidding them farewell and disappearing down the hall.  
  
"What'd he say?" Rei asked.  
  
Kai shrugged again. "That it doesn't seem too bad."  
  
"And?"  
  
Kai glared at him. "Rest. Don't go out." Kai responded, annoyed.  
  
"And you will, right?"  
  
"Will do what?"  
  
"Rest and not go out. You know what I meant." Rei sighed.  
  
"I'll rest."  
  
"Kai."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"If you aren't going to do what the doctor says, -I- will."  
  
"Fine. You rest and stay inside for me."  
  
"I meant what he told -me- to do."  
  
"What?"  
  
Rei smiled. "I think I'll be staying with -you- until you're feeling better."  
  
"Damnit. Leave me alone."  
  
"No. I don't trust you." Rei responded, starting off towards the elevators.  
  
"Gee...thanks..."  
  
You know. Between this, reading fics, and playing around on VirtualHorseRanch, it took me from 1 o'clock AM to 9 PM to finish this...Anyway. Thanks for reading and please review! . 


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